Au Revoir Britannia

About the Book: 

Demons had been let loose, xenophobia and racism legitimised...

But was it, in fact, the European Union that was the root of the referendum defeat, or was it a convenient and obvious scapegoat? Ironically, the day following, ‘EU’ was the most searched term on the internet. What was this institution that they had just decided to leave? Many people had, in fact, no idea.

au revoir: (French)

goodbye for the present; until we see each other again.

Britannia: (Latin)

a province of the Roman Empire to the north of Gaul.

Is it goodbye to the eu forever for Britain?

Has the good ship Albion sailed into an oblivion of its own making?

From her unique perspective as former French ambassador to the UK, Sylvie Bermann examines the mistruths told by politicians surrounding the fateful 2016 Brexit referendum. Au Revoir Britannia asks the question ‘How did this happen?’ and exposes what she sees as the ‘unrepenting’ and ‘inveterate’ lies of the now pm, Boris Johnson. This first English edition includes a new preface exploring the future of post-Brexit Europe and Britain, and the uncertain implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Reviews: 

One of the most distinctive and thoughtful accounts anywhere of the culpable fiasco that is Brexit. [An] exasperated, affectionate lament. SCOTTISH REVIEW

A zippy insider’s take on the Brexit wars. THE NEW EUROPEAN

Reading Au Revoir Britannia is a strange, troubling and almost schizophrenic experience. This account of the Brexit years by Sylvie Bermann, the former French ambassador to Britain at the time of the EU referendum, is often laugh out loud funny – she has a gift for subtle but acidic putdowns; it’s insidery; it’s gossipy – but it’s also like reliving a nightmare you’d started to forget. THE HERALD