The New-Auld Alliance
Brexit has left a sour taste, like a nice French wine being corked. But is this the end for
Scotland’s historic ties to Europe?
This article doesn’t seek to make any promises about the future, but if it were to, do you think
it would last 700 years? Could it withstand world wars, financial crashes or pandemics? How
about Brexit itself? Well frankly, probably not. Yet, this is exactly what the Auld Alliance has
done.
Now, for a little context, what is the Auld Alliance? The Auld Alliance, and it is very ‘auld’, is a
political promise between France and Scotland to aid each other in the events of an invasion
from England, a quickly growing power in 1295. This promise has seen trade links and
diplomatic ties between the two countries and further saw admiration from one of France’s
most influential Presidents, Charles De Gaulle, in 1942; “In every combat where […] France was
at stake [the] men of Scotland [fought] side by side with the men of France, and what
Frenchmen feel…” De Gaulle further proclaims, “…is that no people has ever been more
generous than yours with its friendship.”. This is a powerful statement, but how could any of
this help us now?
According to Siobhan Talbott (2011), this historic union never ended. Trade between both
countries has always been sympathetic, and there has been a strong cultural tie with no formal
dissolvement of the treaty itself. This is very significant. The Auld Alliance was once a beacon
for Franco-Scot unity with active dual nationality, strong university links and even the elite
Garde Écossaise who protected the French monarchy until 1830.
In the 2014 Independence Referendum, there were also calls for the French Government to
send officials to oversee the process to vouch for its credibility. Scottish people feel soothed by
France, as an ally and as a peacekeeper. It would be natural to think this also goes both ways.
With Scotland now being severed from the EU against its democratic will, perhaps now is time
to ask for some of that famous Franco-Scot kinship? In 2020, the accredited French newspaper
Libération interviewed Nicola Sturgeon with much haste on what she had to say about
Scotland’s future.
France isn’t the only country with an interest in Scotland’s re-entry into the EU, the capital of
the Friesland region in the Netherlands (Leeuwarden), has permanently replaced the Union Jack
with the Scottish Saltire outside its Central Station as a symbol of ‘keeping the lights on for
Scotland’, according to its Deputy Mayor Sjoerd Feitsma. Soon after Britain left the EU, the
European Union Commission building in Brussels set up a sign proclaiming Europe’s solidarity
with Scotland, again symbolically ‘leaving the light on’. In 2019, Scotland also announced its
Innovation Hub in Paris, seeking to strengthen one of the ‘oldest relationships in the world’ and
to ‘promote trade and investment’ despite the ‘challenges of Brexit’.
Is our way back through the Auld Alliance though? Well, it may be a little more complicated
than that. Some have argued that the pact was dissolved after the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560
which saw the union of England and Scotland. This made the original point of the alliance null
and void, which was to keep the English military in check. Scotland was also at war with France
during the Napoleonic wars, which would have seen any agreements between the two states
shredded. Although this may be the case, France and Scotland’s cultural mélange supersedes all
of this. Plus, technically Scotland was never at war with the Napoleonic Empire, Britain was.
Would an independent Scotland see the agreement reinstated? Sadly, the answer is that there
are no current plans, according to the Scottish Government in 2020. But perhaps it is a better
question for another day, and with 21 recent polls in favour of independence, it’s a
conversation we might be having sooner rather than later…
Although this alliance is more of a novelty now, and there isn’t a strong case for its
reinstatement, our ‘French connection’ might be exactly what we need to find our identity in
Europe. Former trade routes and associations show Scotland is primed for the ‘European
Embrace’ and it never hurts to befriend one of the politically strongest members in the EU.
Scottish people have felt robbed of their freedom of travel and settlement, and Scottish
Fishermen have found Brexit to be damaging to their sector, so could France help? Will or can
they offer anything?
The bond between us and France is strong, we’re like sisters. We fight. We make up. We move
on… but most importantly we always have each other’s back. One day soon we might see this
age-old question brought up again, will we see the ‘Auld Alliance’ for an encore? It is likely no,
but more importantly, will we ever see a ‘New-Auld Alliance’?
Luke Carlin, 810 words