Georges Clemenceau spoke English, knew John Stuart Mill, was friends with Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling, had a Rolls Royce, and received an honoris causa doctorate from Oxford University at the end of his life. His special bond with England may have contributed to shaping the British side of his humour, as he once said that the country was a French colony that had gone wrong. It is true that since William of Normandy, thanks to the use of the French language, part of the English spirit has become accessible to a Frenchman. But I believe that a French mind will always find it difficult to understand the part of the British character that has remained foreign to him. Diversity, however, is a wonderful journey, and I am looking forward to seeing my English friends again in Chichester, in January 2026, and to celebrate Kagami Biraki, the New Year, with them, through Aikido.
