Cher President Macron,

It’s kind of you to write, especially when you’ve had so much going on at home recently. I share many of your concerns about Europe’s future, but we disagree profoundly about some of the causes of Europe’s problems and the right solutions to them.

At the start of your letter, you launch a bitter attack on Brexit. But perhaps it would be worth reflecting more on why the Continent’s second biggest economy (yep, sorry), and one of Europe’s most innovative, tolerant and diverse societies chose to leave.

This wasn’t some fit of pique – or a bolt from the blue. As David Cameron warned in 2013, democratic consent for the EU was “wafer thin” in the UK. These problems have been building for a long time.

Now, I know you don’t agree with the result of our referendum. You opposed us holding one altogether. But you will recognise that the right to exit is afforded to every member in EU law through a fundamental treaty. I recall you telling Andrew Marr that France would “probably” have voted to leave, if it was asked. You may prefer that the choice is never offered, but that’s hardly a sustainable basis for democratic legitimacy.