Celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale

Our Director General, Claire Horton CBE, attended a celebration event at the UK embassy in Paris to mark the 120^th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.

The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed by France and the United Kingdom in 1904. This was not a formal alliance between the two countries – this would follow the start of the First World War in 1914 - but served as a basis for a stronger Anglo-French relationship.

For the event, we created a display of CWGC archive material to illustrate how our work since the end of the First World War has played an important role in promoting the spirit of Entente Cordiale and continues to support the friendship shared between the UK and France. 

One of the fantastic examples of this is found in the notebooks and diaries of Commission’s Inspector of Works Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Cart de Lafontaine, who was involved in liaising with French municipal authorities concerning perpetual concessions for war grave plots, the forestalling of private acquisitions and the prevention of unauthorised exhumations during the 1920s. Cart de Lafontaine’s interactions with municipal authorities are a unique and fascinating example of the forging of relations on a more localised scale.

This is a spirit that continues today, exemplified by the ongoing relationship between the CWGC and our partners in France as we approach a number of rededication services at cemeteries in France later this month.

Photography © Jean-François Deroubaix