Welcome back France .... I think

Though some of you have already devined - I am a closeted Francophile - not that it stops me from jabb'n at their guv'munt and eurocrats.

As a result, I am generally happy that they have decided to stop holding their breath and stomp'n their feet. As anyone who has wandered around a NATO HQ can tell you, they never really left.

The DailyMail though, as expected, isn't so sure.

With typical flamboyance and fanfare, French President Nicolas Sarkozy this week announced that France is to rejoin Nato's military command after 40 years of self-imposed exile.

It was in 1966 that President Charles de Gaulle pulled out of the heart of the Nato alliance, claiming that belonging to the Nato military command undermined French independence and sovereignty.

Yet while its allies in the alliance have publicly welcomed this return to the fold, a fundamental question seems to have been ignored: do we actually want the French back?

Since World War II, the French and its army have been seen by many as standard-bearers for surrender, cowardice and military ineptitude.

But at least they've made us laugh. Here's a selection of morale-boosting jokes and quips about the people so memorably described in The Simpsons TV series as the cheese-eating surrender monkeys...

You need to hit the link and read it all.

I do think it will be interesting to watch as I am sure as they negotiate the "Flags to Post" the the French will want more, or at least the same, number of 3-4 star positions and major HQ as the Brits and the Germans. Some things never change - European tribal conflicts being one of them.