On Thursday 5 June former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard called for Britain to 'get out of Europe before you wreck it'. (The original French version can be found here).
What he said was extraordinarily arrogant.
In his view Britain has blocked every move to make the EU a functional and democratic body capable of tackling the problems of the modern world. Our opposition to a European superstate has been no more than a cynical attempt 'to capitalise on the disorder that [we] have helped to create'. We should simply 'go before [we] wreck everything'.
His argument shows a complete disregard for the views of his own people. In last May's EU elections 25% of the French people chose to vote for the anti-Semitic and Islamophobic Front National rather than back one of the euro-federalist parties of the political establishment. They couldn't have given a clearer rejection of 'more of the same' when it comes to the EU.
It also reflects a belief held by many in the French political class that the rest of Europe is a mere extension of France, with French interests and those of the European continent being the same. The idea that any other European country should stand up for its own national interest is unthinkable - it's anti-European.
This belief becomes all the more perverse in light of of France's decision to push ahead with its sale of two warships to Russia. This is despite blatant Russian military aggression in eastern Europe in its attempts to destabilise Ukraine and annex Crimea. France chose French jobs over European solidarity and the shared ideals of freedom and democracy.
France is the new sick man of Europe. Described by the Economist as 'the time-bomb at the heart of Europe', its inability to tackle record unemployment and a floundering economy must make finding a scapegoat tempting. Yet Britain is not to blame for France's troubles. The fault lies solely with France and its inability to face the painful economic reforms that Britain tackled head on.
Britain is now the fastest growing economy in the G7 and unemployment is at a five year low. The head of the IMF even apologised for underestimating the UK's growth forecasts. Rather than bashing the UK, perhaps France should be looking to see what Britain did right.
