The French model is now tragically broken

An obsession with comparing Britain unfavourably to France has long been one of the most counter-productive pathologies of our bien pensant establishment. Such people believe in a naive, one-dimensional caricature of the country – a place that only exists in their imaginations, or on their summer holidays.

They consider France to be the apex of European civilisation, cultured and “progressive”, while the UK is all too often condemned as racist, ignorant and consumeristic. They lament the inability of British politicians to mimic their continental counterparts in using the state’s power to advance the country’s interests. High-speed rail, nuclear energy and a supposedly better quality of life are held up as conclusive proof of the glories of the French system.