De Gaulle understood the British better than most. He knew we would be a disruptive influence to le projet, and he was right. The EU is not nearly the creature the French have always dreamed of, because we were there, holding them back.
Of course, it is also still far too French for our liking (principally, in the working of the European Commission, which the British tabloids love to hate for its activism and regulatory zeal, but which is actually just behaving exactly as the French civil service does).
I reckon he would also not be surprised at our eventual departure, nor that the process has caused such disruption. Hey Bobby, what’s the French for I told you so?
