From The Economist on the British/French defence pact:

…
Divided we fall
Britain and France need each other to continue as great(ish) powers

…most of the objections raised seem either ignorant or anachronistic. Even before France rejoined NATO’s integrated military structure last year, British and French forces had frequently worked and fought together under the command of one or other country. With the exception of the Iraq controversy, the two have rarely found themselves on opposite sides during recent international crises. For example, Britain’s defence secretary during the Falklands war, John Nott, revealed in his memoirs that France had been Britain’s staunchest ally, providing information that helped to render the Exocet anti-ship missiles used by Argentina ineffective, and supplying Mirage and Super-Etendard fighters for British Harrier pilots to pit themselves against in training…

But this table is rather sad, from the Royal Navy point of view in particular:

Mark
Ottawa