Since Talleyrand, there have been many distinguished French ambassadors to London. The most recent was Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, appointed by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. Who, we might ask, will the future bring to these shores? Obviously much will depend on the outcome of the French presidential elections, which is still uncertain at the time of writing.But we also should remember a crucial part of the Talleyrand story. Above all, Talleyrand believed in the importance of consolidating an Anglo-French alliance, of forging what Palmerston was the first to call “a firm and cordial entente”. For all the centuries of war, Britain was France’s most important ally and the means to secure peace in Europe. It was the pursuit of this strategy that was the key to his success.

Faced with a Britain heading at full speed and at any cost towards Brexit, what French government is likely to set much store by such an alliance? None that I can think of. And what person of calibre would want the job in any case? Let us recall that our Foreign Secretary compared the EU to Napoleon’s attempt to take over Europe. Rather than subtle and intelligent diplomacy and negotiation of the kind exemplified by Talleyrand, we indulge ourselves in lecturing and threatening our erstwhile partners, thereby only increasing the distrust with which we are seen. Be assured: no other country will be as eager to marginalise the UK as France and no other will take such delight in seeking to ensure that we rue the decision we have made. So, as Gourdault-Montagne’s hasty departure to Berlin illustrated, in the future we should expect mediocrity rather than greatness in France’s ambassadors. Still, we will always have our favoured trading partners and friends in the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump’s United States of America to send us someone of distinction.