Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 31 May 1912
PARIS, MAY 28
The suggestion made in England that the Entente Cordiale should be converted into a definite Anglo-French alliance has naturally attracted much attention here. The tone of the press comments is on the whole one of friendly caution; an article by M Gabriel Hanotaux, in the Figaro, is fairly representative of them. M Hanotaux is not an Anglophile, and his policy when Minister of Foreign Affairs was hostile to England, but he seems to think that an alliance, if it were possible, would be preferable to the existing Entente, which he has always disliked on the ground that it is deceptive and leaves the mutual relations and engagements of the two countries in a state of ambiguity. But he recognises the possible dangers of such an alliance, and the writers who receive the suggestion with more cordiality than he make much the same reservations.
The "Temps" says that it is for each country to examine the matter from its own point of view and carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a formal treaty. Other papers of different political shades say much the same thing as the "Temps," some of them more explicitly. The general conclusion to be drawn from the comments of the Parisian press is that apart from all political objections, France would welcome an alliance with England only if England were able to give her effective military support on the Continent in the event of war. And it seems to be the general opinion that in present conditions England could not give such support. This means, in plain words, that a necessary condition of an Anglo-French alliance would be compulsory military service in England.
It is the fact that enthusiasm for the Franco-Russian alliance has considerably cooled that gains such support as there is in France for the idea of an alliance with England. Distrust of Russia is steadily increasing, and nobody believes the official assurances that the relations between the allies are as cordial as ever. As usual, the press has been muzzled, and there has been little comment on the Russian intrigues against Turkey, but what little has become known has created a very bad impression. Moreover, the Russian alliance was made when the Nationalist movement was at its height. The decline of Nationalism has brought about a natural dislike of an alliance with a despotic power. There is at present in France a sincere and widespread sympathy with England, due to a recognition of the fact that England and France are the two great democratic Powers of Europe.