Charles Bremner reviews the French media's reaction to Sunday's Six Nations defeat to England in The Times.
"Usually it's the British who like reminding the French of Waterloo and Trafalgar. Today, French commentators have been invoking the ancient humiliations to qualify the epic defeat that their rugby team suffered at the hands of the English at Twickenham yesterday.
"This is not about gloating (I'm Scottish and the Six Nations Cup has three sides from Great Britain). But here for any interested fans is what France has been saying about the 34-10 débâcle that England inflicted on les Bleus. The defeat was the second worse after the 37-0 rout by les rosbifs in 1911.
"C'était Waterloo!" said the headline on the front of L'Equipe, the sports daily. "Massacre in an English Garden," said le Figaro. Le Monde called it "un coup de Trafalgar" and said France had been "administered a spanking like in those strict boarding schools in 19th century England".
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