Bilateral relations
France?Netherlands relations
are the
interstate
and
bilateral relations
between
France
and the
Netherlands
. The two countries notably share a
border division
in the
Caribbean
island of
Saint Martin
, to which the northern part of the island is a French
overseas collectivity
known as the
Collectivity of Saint Martin
, while the southern part of the island is a Dutch
constituent country
known as
Sint Maarten
. Relations between the two countries date back to the 17th and 18th centuries when a
conflict
led to the transformation of the
Dutch Republic
to the
Batavian Republic
and eventually the
Kingdom of Holland
. The two countries currently enjoy close cultural and economic relations.
[1]
Both nations are members of the
OECD
and
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
, as well as founding members of the
European Union
,
NATO
, and the
United Nations
.
History
[
edit
]
Background
[
edit
]
From the 1560s, France and the Dutch Republic considered themselves to be allies until 1668 when the Dutch Republic formed the
Triple Alliance
with the
Kingdom of England
and the
Swedish Empire
to revolt against
Louis XIV
of France's expansion in the
War of Devolution
in support of the
Spanish Empire
, whom France succeeded as the strongest nation in Europe.
[2]
[3]
Feeling betrayed by the Dutch Republic, Louis realized that the Dutch Republic would hinder France in conquering the
Spanish Netherlands
.
In 1672, Louis was able to convince the Kingdom of England and the Swedish Empire to fight against the Dutch Republic, as Louis had agreed to financially support England.
[5]
England has already fought in two wars against the Dutch Empire (the
First
and
Second Anglo-Dutch Wars
in 1652?1654 and 1665?1667, respectively), prior to their agreement in the Triple Alliance.
Franco-Dutch War
[
edit
]
The
Franco-Dutch War
occurred in 1672?1678, shortly after the Kingdom of England and the Swedish Empire betrayed the Dutch Republic and supported France, disbanding the Triple Alliance. 1672 is considered by the Dutch as the "Disaster Year" (
Rampjaar
).
Supporting the Spanish Empire, the Dutch Republic was joined by the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
and the
Holy Roman Empire
, while the French army expanded through its alliance with the prince-bishops of
Munster
and
Cologne
. Prior to the French army's arrival into the
Rhine
, England had declared their third "navigation war" on the Dutch Republic (
Third Anglo-Dutch War
) in an attempt of a naval attack, but efforts were thwarted by Dutch admiral
Michiel de Ruyter
. By June 1672, France had established fortifications within the Rhine, including
Rheinberg
,
Wesel
, and
Utrecht
, and Munsterans began attacking the north, particularly
Groningen
. The following month, William of Nassau (the later
William III
) was acclaimed
stadtholder
.
[6]
Upon arrival at the
Lower Rhine region
, the French army began retreating after witnessing the Imperial and Brandenburgian armies. By December, the Dutch were able to liberate a number of occupied territories in the north after the French had retreated while crossing the
Dutch Water Line
. However, in late 1673, the French army succeeded in capturing
Bonn
. In February 1674, the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Empire, along with the prince-bishops of Munster and Cologne, signed the
Treaty of Westminster
, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. In August 1674, the Dutch-German-Spanish army entered the territory of northern France, under the command of
William III of Orange
, where they were met by the French army commanded by
Louis II de Conde
. In
Seneffe
, Conde blocked the Dutch-German-Spanish army by detaching about 500 horsemen to keep the Dutch vanguard busy, surrounding the Dutch-German-Spanish army and resulting to a tactical French victory. This became known as the
Battle of Seneffe
.
[7]
In 1675, the Swedish army
invaded
Brandenburg
. In March 1678, the French army had entered the Spanish Netherlands and besieged
Ghent
.
[8]
Later that year until 1679, the
Treaties of Nijmegen
were signed between France, the Dutch Republic, the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Prince-Bishopric of Munster, and the Swedish Empire, ending the Franco-Dutch War with the
Franche-Comte
and the Spanish Netherlands belonging to France, making them Europe's strongest power. The war sparked the rivalry between William III, who later conquered England as part of the
Glorious Revolution
, and Louis XIV, which intensified in the subsequent
Nine Years' War
(1688?97) and the
War of the Spanish Succession
(1701?14), both of which the Dutch Republic supported the coalition against the Kingdom of France. Unfortunately for the Dutch Republic, the war also resulted in the decline of the republic's dominance in overseas trade.
[9]
Batavian Republic
[
edit
]
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adding to it
.
(
April 2023
)
|
Kingdom of Holland
[
edit
]
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adding to it
.
(
April 2023
)
|
Collectivity of Saint Martin?Sint Maarten border
[
edit
]
On 23 March 1648, the
French Kingdom
and the Dutch Republic signed the
Treaty of Concordia
atop
Mount Concordia
, in which both agreed to divide the island of
Saint Martin
into their own territories ? the French Kingdom owning the northern part of the island and the Dutch Republic owning the southern part of island.
[10]
On 17 May 1994, the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed the
Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls
in
Paris
, aimed at improving
border control
at the two airports on Saint Martin, namely the
Princess Juliana International Airport
at the Dutch
Sint Maarten
and the
L'Esperance Airport
at the French
Collectivity of Saint Martin
. The treaty was ratified on 1 August 2007. Among the provisions of the treaty is a requirement for a visa or a landing permit for both the Dutch and French sides if a foreigner is to visit the island of Saint Martin. However, the provisions have not been implemented.
[
citation needed
]
On 1 January 2009, the population of Saint Martin was 77,741 inhabitants ? 40,917 living on the Dutch Sint Maarten and 36,824 living on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin.
[11]
[12]
Economic relations
[
edit
]
France is the Netherlands' fourth-largest investor, third-largest exporter, and sixth-largest supplier,
[1]
to which the Netherlands is also France's seventh-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer.
[13]
[14]
According to the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
, about 400 French companies in the industries of
service
,
metallurgy
, and
agriculture
maintain operations in the Netherlands, including
AccorHotels
,
Air France?KLM
,
Atos
,
Capgemini
,
Engie
,
Saint-Gobain
,
Sodexo
,
Thales Group
, and
Total S.A.
France and the Netherlands have agreed to establish synergies to further enhance bilateral cooperation between the countries' economies, notably the Air France?KLM merger between their
flag carriers
(
Air France
and
KLM
) in 2004 and the
Danone
takeover of
Numico
in 2007.
[15]
The ministry also stated that between 1993 and 2008, Dutch companies maintaining operations in France, including
AkzoNobel
,
DSM
,
DSV
,
Heineken International
,
Royal Dutch Shell
,
Philips
,
SHV Holdings
,
TNT Express
, and
Vopak
, contributed to the creation of 15,000 jobs in the country.
[16]
The last few years there has been an increasing exchange in the field of mobility between France and the Netherlands. Two venues that are particularly popular are Autonomy(Paris) & Intertraffic(Amsterdam).
These exchanges have been facilitated by the embassies, Business France, Choose Paris Region, Amsterdam Trade & Invest and the Dutch Trade Agency(RVO).
Cultural and scientific cooperation
[
edit
]
From 1957 until its closure in 2013, the
Institut Neerlandais
in Paris promoted
Dutch art and culture
and was one of the oldest
cultural centers
in the city.
[17]
Its counterpart, the Institut Francais, has branches in
Amsterdam
and
Groningen
that promote
French art and culture
.
[18]
A number of French
research institutes
, including the
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
, the
Institut national de la recherche agronomique
,
IFREMER
, and the
French Institute of Health and Medical Research
, have signed agreements with Dutch research institutes to enhance collaborative capabilities. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development has also stated that French
legal culture
is being promoted at the
International Court of Justice
in
The Hague
.
[19]
Drug combat
[
edit
]
According to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, France and the Netherlands have cooperated with each other in the
prohibition of drugs
since 1995 through the leadership of a high-level bilateral group. The two countries hold annual meetings in The Hague and Paris.
[20]
State visits
[
edit
]
In the year 2000, French President
Jacques Chirac
and his wife
Bernadette
brought a state visit to the Netherlands.
[21]
They were received by
Queen Beatrix
and Prime Minister
Wim Kok
in
Amsterdam
.
[21]
Afterwards, Chirac and Kok went to The Hague for a visit to the
Mauritshuis
.
[21]
French President
Francois Hollande
visited the Netherlands on 20 January 2014, where he met with
King
Willem-Alexander
,
Queen Maxima
, and
Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
. He also met with the
House of Representatives
and the
Senate
, where he addressed the diplomatic and political ties between the two countries.
[22]
In 2016,
King Willem-Alexander
together with
Queen Maxima
brought a state visit to France, were they were received by President
Hollande
in the
Elysee Palace
.
[21]
On 11 April 2023, French President
Emmanuel Macron
and his wife
Brigitte
paid a 2-day
state visit
to the Netherlands.
[23]
They were received by
King Willem-Alexander
and
Queen Maxima
at the
Royal Palace of Amsterdam
.
[24]
Afterwards, Macron went to The Hague, where he gave an speech about his vision on the future of
Europe
.
[23]
[25]
The next day, Macron and Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
went to the
Rijksmuseum
to see a exhibition about Dutch painter
Johannes Vermeer
.
[23]
Resident diplomatic missions
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Relations the Netherlands - France"
.
Government of the Netherlands
. Retrieved
6 November
2015
.
- ^
Wolf 1962, p. 316.
- ^
Lynn 1999, p. 109.
- ^
Lynn 1999, pp. 109?110.
- ^
Lynn 1999, p. 114
- ^
Lynn, p. 80-81.
- ^
Lynn 1999, p. 153.
- ^
"Dutch War of Louis XIV., 1672-1678"
.
Zentrale fur Unterrichtsmedien im Internet
. 1 June 2003
. Retrieved
7 November
2015
.
- ^
"Treaty of Concordia"
. Sint Maarten Museum. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
6 November
2015
.
- ^
Department of Statistics (STAT) of St. Maarten.
"Population, St. Maarten, January 1 st"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2013-05-31
. Retrieved
2012-08-20
.
- ^
"Les populations legales 2009 entrent en vigueur le 1er janvier 2012"
.
INSEE
(in French).
Government of France
. Retrieved
2010-08-20
.
- ^
"Export Partners of France"
.
CIA World Factbook
. 2012. Archived from
the original
on June 13, 2007
. Retrieved
23 July
2013
.
- ^
"Import Partners of France"
.
CIA World Factbook
. 2012. Archived from
the original
on June 13, 2007
. Retrieved
23 July
2013
.
- ^
"Danone says Numico bid unconditional, holds 90.5 pct"
.
Reuters
. 31 October 2007
. Retrieved
8 November
2015
.
- ^
"Economic relations"
.
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
. 10 January 2011
. Retrieved
8 November
2015
.
- ^
"Institut Neerlandais gaat eind dit jaar dicht"
.
de Volkskrant
(in Dutch). 8 February 2013
. Retrieved
9 February
2013
.
- ^
"Institut Francais"
(in French).
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
. 3 August 2015
. Retrieved
8 November
2015
.
- ^
"Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation"
.
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
. 10 January 2011
. Retrieved
8 November
2015
.
- ^
"Other types of cooperation"
.
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
. 10 January 2011
. Retrieved
8 November
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Na 23 jaar weer Frans staatsbezoek, president Macron twee dagen in Nederland"
(in Dutch). NOS. 11 April 2023
. Retrieved
11 April
2023
.
- ^
"French President Francois Hollande visits Dutch Parliament"
.
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
. Retrieved
27 November
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Macron op staatsbezoek: saluutschoten, kranslegging op de Dam en lezing in Den Haag"
(in Dutch). NOS. 11 April 2023
. Retrieved
11 April
2023
.
- ^
"Macron probeert in het Nederlands te speechen op staatsbanket"
[Macron tries to speak in Dutch during a state banquet]
(
Video
)
(in French and Dutch). NOS. 11 April 2023
. Retrieved
11 April
2023
.
- ^
"Macron Outlines Need for European Sovereignty"
. Voice of America. 11 April 2023
. Retrieved
11 April
2023
.
- ^
Embassy of France in The Hague
- ^
Embassy of the Netherlands in Paris
Bibliography
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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