Boris Johnson to France: Prenez un grip

Boris Johnson reckons the French should “get a grip” and stop being so angry over the tie-up between the U.K., Australia and the U.S. — dubbed AUKUS.

The British prime minister, on a visit to Washington, used Franglais to get his message across, telling U.K. media: “I just think it’s time for some of our dearest friends around the world to prenez un grip [get a grip] about this and donnez-moi un break [give me a break].”

He added: “This is fundamentally a great step forward for global security. It’s three very like-minded allies standing shoulder-to-shoulder, creating a new partnership for the sharing of technology. It’s not exclusive. It’s not trying to shoulder anybody out. It’s not adversarial towards China, for instance. I find it very hard to see in this agreement anything not to like.”

Paris has found an awful lot to dislike in the three-way alliance, which saw Australia back out of a massive contract with France to buy submarines. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the move a “stab in the back” and France recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia, but not Britain.