The Entente Cordiale: Dissecting the 1904 Agreements, their Background and Legacy

In 1904, six years after the great Franco-British crisis over Fashoda, the Entente Cordiale was not a given.

Professor Robert Frank will describe the very specific background that allowed the two countries’ relations to improve so quickly at the beginning of the 20th century. He will analyse the limited agreements on which the Entente Cordiale is based, but which do not constitute an alliance.

Chaired by Dr Luc-André Brunet, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary International History (The Open University), the conference will provide an opportunity to reposition the Entente within the context of the long history of Franco-British relations, made up of wars and tensions but also of two moments of understanding and even alliance under Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III. Finally, the professor will discuss the legacy of the 1904 Entente Cordiale and consider the state of Franco-British relations today, post-Brexit: how can we gauge the relative levels of “change” brought about by Brexit and of “historical continuity” since 1904?