The Royal Bank of Canada? Imperial Oil? The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan? They might be the biggest companies in Canada, but they are unlikely to strike fear into the heart of any boardroom. If a screenwriter proposed any of them as the villain in a Bond movie, the producers would collapse in a fit of giggles.

And yet, extraordinarily, it seems that the European Union may prove unable to agree a trade deal with Canada because Wallonia, of all places, is too worried about the unbridled power those corporations might have over its traditional way of life. After years of negotiation, the planned deal between Europe and the northern tip of the other side of the Atlantic is in danger of falling apart.

There are two lessons in that as Britain tries to negotiate its own deal with the EU for after we leave the Union. Most of the continent is now fundamentally opposed to free trade. And the process of negotiating an agreement has become so tortuous, with so many competing interests potentially able to block it, as to make it virtually impossible. The conclusion? We will probably have no choice over a “hard” or “soft” Brexit – and will have to rely on World Trade Organisation rules instead.