Waterloo, 200 years on: France chafes, Britain cheers as battle remembered

European royals and diplomats gathered in Belgium Thursday to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, a turning point for the continent which still touches a nerve and stirs national passions. The stress was on modern-day reconciliation and the sacrifice of some 47,000 dead or wounded soldiers on the fields around the small drab town just south of Brussels, the target of Napoleon’s ill-fated drive north in June 1815. France and Germany however sent only their ambassadors to a ceremony that attracted kings and dukes, stirring a history that runs deep in a corner of the continent scarred by centuries of war.

The enemies of yesterday are the allies of today. This reality, it is the European project.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel

Billed as the largest reenactment ever, the key event marking the anniversary includes 5,000 participants, 300 horses, and 100 cannons. Tickets have been sold out for months. European royalty and dignitaries are among the crowds gathered in Belgium to mark an event that changed the course of European history. The event has revived old debates over who actually should be honored at Waterloo – many say the Brits are too eager to cast him as a hero because he could not have won alone, without the rest of Europe also against France.

On this bicentenary, we feel entitled to call on our British allies to resist the familiar temptation of splendid isolation. The country which cornered Napoleon cannot succumb to Nigel Farage. Today, we solemnly say to our friends across the Channel: beware, Brexit could be your Waterloo!

French paper Le Monde’ editorial

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