Emmanuel Macron and hardcore Brexiteers on the Tory backbenches don’t have much in common. But they were oddly united in their reaction to Prime Minister Theresa May’s historic defeat in the House of Commons over her Brexit plan. It increased the chances that the UK would exit Europe without any deal at all, they stated confidently.

Perhaps the French president should focus on the colourful protesters at home, as his view of events on the other side of the channel seems very hazy. (The Brexiteers were wrong, too, for other reasons.)