Le conflit des Îles Malouines (Falklands) sous le regard d'Emmanuel Jacquin de Margerie, Ambassadeur de France à Londres (2 avril-11 juin 1982)

Abstract

John Nott, former UK Defence Secretary, described France as Britain's greatest ally during the Falklands crisis in 1982. The present study investigates the manner in which French diplomat Emmanuel Jacquin de Margerie contemplated this short unpredicted war. The article follows the diplomatic analysis of British policymaking process focusing particularly on the interaction between foreign and domestic politics. Thus, events are examined in the light of the conflict causes and the British respective reaction in such a way as to determine how a woman's war got to be constrained by an unavoidable military logic. Overall, the study endeavors to point out the emblematic difference between diplomatic and political conflict management. Thirty years after the war, this article exploits unpublished sources obtained through derogation procedures: sixty five diplomatic telegrams from April 2 till June 11, 1982 signed by "de Margerie" and conserved at the National Archives of France.