Mr Juppé takes the opposite tack. He talks and thinks like a Europhile, while declaring that EU enlargement must stop and that Brussels must meddle less. He wants a beefed up EU security force to police the borderless Schengen travel zone, and has even suggested that, once all these enormously difficult reforms are enacted, France and Germany ought to hold referendums on them all.

All of this sounds like a familiar playbook to followers of British politics. Centrist politicians, threatened by a challenger on the Right, start making illustrious promises about the future of the EU and suggesting it’ll all be settled by a referendum – at some point. But this is happening in France, a founding member of the union and one of its most fervent believers.

Its politicians can sense that stonewalling isn’t going to work forever. Brexit will grip the EU next spring even more than it does now. France will conclude its presidential elections in May, weeks after Theresa May has promised to trigger Article 50. The timing is bad for the Brexit negotiation, because politicians makes all sorts of silly statements during election campaigns. But if it gives France a president who sees the need to reform and adapt, it could not only help Britain reach a reasonable deal, it might just ensure the EU’s survival too.