Anglo-French feelings in spotlight
Differences and agreement marks Chirac's British visit
From Robin Oakley
CNN European Political Editor
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and ousting of former leader Saddam Hussein has made the world more dangerous by provoking terrorism, French President Jacques Chirac said on the eve of a state visit to Britain.
Chirac's comments to the BBC preceded his state visit to London on Thursday to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of colonial rivalry between France and Britain.
Chirac has said there's no animosity between him and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but their relationship is defined by the way each feels about U.S. President George W. Bush.
Chirac, who strongly disagreed on going to war in Iraq, said Bush and Blair had encouraged terrorism with the ousting of Hussein.
"I am not at all sure that one can say the world is safer. There is no doubt that there has been an increase in terrorism," Chirac said in a BBC interview, according to Reuters.
Blair insisted this week that America and Europe must pull closer. Chirac, for his part, argues Europe must be a counterweight to US power.
"President Chirac said recently almost with the tone of 'I told you so' that what he considers blind loyalty to the U.S. doesn't get you much in return," said Dana Allin from the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
"Prime Minister Blair has long felt -- he certainly felt after September 11 -- that there was no moral or strategic advantage to be gained by artificial distance from the U.S."
This week's official visit by Chirac -- who has already hosted Britain's Queen Elizabeth in Paris -- marks the "Entente Cordiale" between the two countries.
But peace doesn't mean there isn't intense rivalry -- in sport, in culture and even about how the European Union is run. There is also rivalry over whether French or English is the dominant language.
"They sometimes give the impression, have done for years, that there's an Anglo-Saxon world out there waiting to do them down. Just as much as our anti-Europeans think there's a Franco-German plot to do down the Brits in Europe", U.K. Europe Minister Denis MacShane said.
Blair and Chirac both say it is time to draw a line under their differences on Iraq. They also share ambitions on Africa, on European defense and on aiding peace in the Middle East.
But despite agreeing on such points, burying national rivalries seems a tough task.
"We do seem to bicker and bicker. Sometimes I feel we're like an old married couple, who think occasionally of murdering each other -- but never of divorce," MacShane added.
