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Ladies and gentlemen and to my now friend, S茅bastien, it鈥檚 wonderful to have you here in London and thank you for joining us at the magnificent ambassador鈥檚 residence. And thank you to you for welcoming us here this evening.

And it鈥檚 a timely moment to be here because this year we not only commemorate 80 years since D-Day, it鈥檚 actually 120 years since the signing of our Entente Cordiale.

What precisely is it that makes our entente so special? It was after all, supposed to be nothing more than an informal understanding. And yet it survived the loss of millions during the Great War.

It was the animating spirit that flowed through the heroic soldiers of the Free French on D-Day. And, in our own century, it has remained, and been reanimated by the Lancaster House Treaties of 2010.

Perhaps the best answer to this entente conundrum was provided by Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander of the combined British, French and American forces in World War 1.

Foch, whose statue stands proudly just 20 minutes walk from here, once said: 鈥溁使谔逵齛pp moral factor is the most important in war.鈥�

This, to me, is the crux. We share the same values: liberty, equality, fraternity. Values that are embedded in our DNA. And values that mean there is far more despite some bumpy times, that unites us than divides us.

You saw that in the magnificent state visit that has already been referenced where 皇冠体育appir Majesties the King and Queen visited France earlier this year.

And, since becoming Defence Secretary, I鈥檝e had the pleasure of seeing our entente in action. Today our forces are operating across air, land and sea.

Our industries are pushing the boundaries of technologies in everything from complex weapons to Maritime Mine Counter Measures and missiles.聽

And our great Combined Joint Expeditionary Force is coming into its own. Able to muster more than 10,000 at a moments鈥� notice, it has created the structures to allow us to plan and operate together and over the few months the Griffin exercises will train our people to cope with the intensity of maritime warfare anywhere in the world.

However, I think we need to acknowledge that world is rapidly changing, the threats that we face are increasing.

120 years ago, Foch wrote 鈥淭ruly enough, a new era had begun, the era of national wars, of wars which were to assume a maddening pace鈥�.

Words that seem especially prescient today with Ukraine fighting to kick Russian invaders out of their own country and Israel pursuing the Hamas terrorists in Gaza, those who brought mass slaughter to the people of Israel on October 7.

That 鈥榤addening pace鈥� that he talked about as being fuelled both by ideology and realpolitik.

Hamas shares an ideology with that of Daesh and al Qaeda offshoots that are growing in influence across Sub Saharan Africa for example.

Behind Hamas lies the malign shadow of Iran which continues to pull the strings of its other proxies, no matter whether it鈥檚 Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis of Yemen or the militants of different locations from Iraq to Syria.

And as Iran and North Korea send suicide drones and artillery to Russia, Russia invites Hamas to the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has a 鈥渘o limits partnership鈥� with China. And China, in the midst of massive military and economic expansion, has a mutual defence treaty policy with North Korea.

Collectively, these nations seek to rewrite the international order in their own image.

If we are to respond then we must follow Foch in showing resolution, courage and commitment. And I think that means three things.

First, showing our wholehearted backing for Ukraine.

皇冠体育app media focus might have switched on to the Middle East but our focus, as S茅bastien and I discussed today, has not.

Putin鈥檚 success wouldn鈥檛 just be a disaster for Ukraine and of course her neighbours, it would give autocrats everywhere the green light to ride rough shod over the international rules-based system which is why I told President Zelenskyy, when I visited him in Kyiv earlier this year, our support remains absolutely unwavering.

As winter draws on, we know Ukraine can expect more attacks.

So, the international community must continue working with coalition colleagues to keep providing Ukraine with equipment and ammunition that she requires.

And we must keep combatting Russia and their campaign of disinformation which seeks to make others forget Ukraine鈥檚 plight.

Second, we must shore up our international order, which means continuing to bolster NATO, which is the bedrock of our European shared defence.

Next year the Alliance marks its 75th anniversary and it remains in rude health, much strengthened by the partnerships with countries like France.

It has played a pivotal role in reassuring our Eastern European allies and deterring further Russian aggression.

Indeed, much to Putin鈥檚 chagrin, NATO is now stronger than it was before he invaded, with the addition of Finland and soon, we very much hope, Sweden as well.

But there is more to do.

Whether reinforcing deterrence and defence along the Alliance鈥檚 Eastern and Northern flanks or providing greater reassurance to nations like Moldova who have greatly been affected by Russia鈥檚 war.

Finally, we must elevate the entente.

France is already the UK鈥檚 closest ally in Europe, but, as this year鈥檚 Defence Command Paper refresh and the Franco-British summit in March underlined, ours is a relationship which has room to grow still.

As the threat of extremism rises again, we can increase our efforts to share intelligence, counter terror and combat the cyber misinformation that poisons our national debate.

We can do more on capabilities too, pressing ahead with the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon programme that we discussed this afternoon, and pursuing the innovations that will help to deliver directed energy weapons, deep precision strike and future combat air systems.

Lastly, there鈥檚 more we can do on operations as well.

I already talked about CJEF is up and running but we must think about adapting it to operate in ever more contested areas such as the High North.

And, of course, we are looking forward to future coordinated carrier deployments in the Indo-Pacific.

Not merely a means of mutually supporting each other鈥檚 task groups, improving the interoperability of our embarked helicopters and testing our un-crewed autonomous vehicles at sea.

But, for the first time, a demonstration of complementary and persistent European presence in a region of critical importance when we do so.

But S茅bastien I think this is all just the start.

And that鈥檚 why you鈥檙e here today. It鈥檚 why we鈥檝e had those excellent discussions this afternoons. We鈥檝e got our brightest brains I鈥檓 told from the military, government, industry and academia, even one of two members of the press from both sides of the Channel.

Opportunity abounds for us and we need your help deciding where we go next.

Next year鈥檚 momentous anniversaries are about much more

than honouring the past, as important as that is. 皇冠体育appy offer us important insights into our future.

Now, by the end of the Great War, Field Marshall Foch was leading both the French and British forces to victory.

And on the base of his statue in London the following words are inscribed 鈥淚 am conscious of having served England as I served my own country鈥�.

He understood that our collective strength lay, not in the might of our arms, but in the strength of our shared values.

I have no doubt that as long as we keep those principles of freedom, justice and democracy uppermost in our minds, then we will not simply follow Marshall Foch in preserving our entente cordiale but, 120 years on, transform it into an entente supreme that merits a third plaque on the wall outside.

S茅bastien, thank you very much indeed.