Nicolas Sarkozy might welcome his State visit to the United Kingdom this week as much for the short respite it affords him as for the formal agenda. The opening months of this year have been uncomfortable for the President, with resistance to his domestic reforms becoming more stubborn and attention being distracted by his intriguing, but not very private, private life. Although this is a comparatively short tour by the standards of these events, it should nonetheless be cheered. The trip highlights the ties between the two countries and the contribution that Mr Sarkozy is making to that enduring relationship.

The last such State occasion – involving Jacques Chirac in 2004 – was, in an ironic way, a triumph of diplomacy. It was meant to be a celebration of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale but the atmosphere after the Iraq war could hardly be described as intimate. Tony Blair and Mr Chirac were not, to put it mildly, on the best of terms and their disagreements went beyond the decision to evict Saddam Hussein from power to the fundamental character of British and French approaches to foreign policy. Mr Chirac’s support for a “multipolar” world order was deciphered as an attempt to undermine the Anglo-American alliance, while Mr Blair’s willingness to back President Bush was dismissed in Paris as typical of the semidetached UK attitude towards Europe. The Entente Cordiale was referred to in passing through gritted teeth.

The atmosphere has since improved. Under Mr Sarkozy, French foreign policy has retained its independent streak (as it should) but he has shown that this can be a constructive force. The sniping over Iraq has stopped and the President is now poised to be the saviour of the Nato effort in Afghanistan by sending in troops who will actually fight. He has been brave in associating himself with an unpopular US Administration and bold in offering the argument for intervention in Darfur when some of his predecessors have adopted a ruthlessly pragmatic attitude towards Africa and its conflicts. While it would be wrong to claim that Britain and France today share an identical outlook towards the European Union, the differences have narrowed substantially.

All of which must be seized as the opportunity that it is by Gordon Brown. While Mr Blair was cursed by serving alongside Mr Chirac and the wayward Gerhard Schröder, the Prime Minister should regard the French President and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, as a blessing. It is well worth his personal time to hammer out an agreed economic reform programme between London and Paris (and Berlin if Ms Merkel is in a position to throw off the shackles of her cumbersome coalition partners after next year) and drive that overdue liberalisation forward. There is also the chance of constructing a new Anglo-French stance towards Russia (with which Germany, again, might wish to be aligned) and to find avenues for closer cooperation on defence which reinforce Nato rather than threaten it. Collaboration in world trade talks is also crucial.

This will not be achieved in a whirlwind State visit. The mostly ceremonial events of this week can, however, be the foundation for partnership. Mr Sarkozy has already indicated that he does not see Anglo-Saxons as a menace. Mr Brown should treat this trip as the delayed moment to celebrate the Entente Cordiale avec sincérité.