France trolls the UK over Brexit result: 'Don't trust a nation that can't behead its Queen'

'The English already want to change their minds over Brexit. Perhaps they’re on an island for a reason.'

Cover of French newspaper Liberation showing Boris Johnson hanging from a zipwire

Long-standing rivalry between France and the UK seems to have been fuelled by the result of Britain's EU referendum.

As ministers in France push for Britain’s swift exit from the EU after the Brexit vote, ordinary French people have taken to social media to say “good riddance” to the English.

“When I see the s**t the English have landed themselves in by voting out… I’m laughing,” wrote Sebastien Coicaud on Twitter.

And journalist Christopher Nunès wrote: “I’ve always had a low opinion of the English. A nation that can’t behead its Queen is not to be trusted!”

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for talks on Brexit to take place immediately, echoing demands from other EU leaders to negotiate Britain’s exit from the bloc as soon as possible.

“There is a certain urgency […] so that we don't have a period of uncertainty, with financial consequences, political consequences,“ Mr Ayrault told reporters.

The front cover of left-leaning French newspaper Libération on Saturday carried a picture of Boris Johnson hanging from a zipwire during the 2012 London Olympics with the headline “good luck”.

Jean Quatremer, Libération’s Europe correspondent, in a column thanked his English and Welsh friends “from the bottom of my heart” for their decision to leave the EU.

“Thank you for your sacrifice!” he wrote, calling the result “a vote of incredible courage, which has politically devastated and will economically weaken your country – the rest of Europe can only be thankful.”

He blamed Britain’s "special status" for preventing the European Union’s reform and thanked the country for having “taken the risk to divide your society, for a long time to come”.

Some took a less tactful approach, using the hashtag #BonDebarras, meaning “good riddance,” on Twitter.

One user called Blandine wrote “these little English people, they make me laugh.”

And in reference to the number of people expressing their so-called ‘Bregret’ after having voted to leave the EU, a user called Xavier wrote: “The English already want to change their minds over Brexit. Perhaps they’re on an island for a reason.”

Others chose to use food-related taunts to insult the English.

“This will cause difficulties for English gourmets - of which there are few. It will be harder for them to choose Tomme Corse [a French goat’s cheese] for their cheeseburgers,” wrote Jack Bastianez.

“Stop celebrating on behalf of the English!” wrote one Twitter user in response to Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party.

“They burnt Joan of Arc! And on top of that, their beer is disgusting.”

However, some posts were a little kinder, like one from Edouard Gibert, which said: “Roastbeefs [a common French nickname for the English], I like your deadpan humour. But now, stop!”