The gala dinner celebrated understanding and good relations between their two countries, so it seemed appropriate that Queen Elizabeth should make a particular effort to ensure French president Jacques Chirac grasped the point she was making.
At a banquet in his honour at Windsor Castle on Thursday, the British monarch - a smile on her face - was snapped gesturing to the French premiere with a raised index finger.
The festivities marked the 100th anniversary of the "Entente Cordiale” - a pact ending centuries of wars between the two countries. And in line with the accord that has developed between France and England, the name of the room in which dinner was served - the sumptuous Waterloo Chamber - was diplomatically changed to the Music Room for the night.
In the course of the evening Queen Elizabeth, who speaks fluent French, proposed a toast to mark the occasion and later reaffirmed that the century-old alliance was "above all about the people of our two countries getting on with each other and working with a common purpose".
The black-tie dinner was followed by a special performance of the hit-musical Les Miserables.
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