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The guy who famously received safety for himself and his family in Britain during the war, what a thanks indeed... Believe it or not I've heard this anecdote told as a projection of anti-European sentiment, have you considered what might have been for the Anglo-European relationship had he not felt France was the centre of the European project and portrayed the UK this way?

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The Gaulle considered the United Kingdom too closely aligned with the United States for comfort. At the time, De Gaulle's first veto on that topic came shortly after the US agreed to supply the UK with Polaris missiles for the UK's nuclear weapons program.

De Gaulle also wanted to shield the nascent EEC from the United States's influence as much as possible. For him, integrating the United Kingdom into the EEC would have moved the EEC's barycenter too far towards Washington.

He saw Britain as a stooge for the USA. He was right. He still is.

Then it appears we had no choice, a self fulfilling prophecy.

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