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[b]Loubet Arrives[/b]
President's State Visit to England Starts Today
--[i]Le Figaro[/i] Headline and Strapline

[b]French President Calls on Queen and Prince of Wales, Will Address House of Commons[/b]
-- [i]The Times of London[/i] Headline

Members of the British Parliament,

I thank you all for your warm words and the even warmer reception I have received in your country. For a Frenchman such as myself to be welcomed with open arms is a testament that the relations between our two nations have come a long way since the days of the Hundred Years' War. For centuries English and French men have fought each other in fields as close as Hastings and Agincourt and in lands as distant as Calcutta and West Africa. Enough blood to fill the oceans has been spilled by both sides. As we move forward, our once heated rivalry has cooled to a relationship of mutual respect. We must let this relationship grow and flourish, a mighty union that will combine the powers of Old Europe together as one, united in the cause of peace and liberty.

I say Old Europe because both the United Kingdom and French Republic represent the very best of Old Europe. Old Europe must stand united against the New Europe, the growing monster in the East who would grab land both East and West to satisfy its insatiable hunger for territory and influence. The United Kingdom and French Republic must stand arm in arm against New Europe. We must work together to check their aggression with our might. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Those words are the Third Republic's motto and those are the words that must define the relationship between our two nations if we hope to keep Europe safe from those that would conquer her. Thank you.

-- President Loubet addressing the House of Commons