From our correspondent in London
If the Brexit evening was a little lively on the Westminster side, it was rather calm in the rest of the country.
Starting with Downing Street, where Boris Johnson celebrated the moment with his close guard – with English sparkling wine and not continental Champagne – but without appearing.
“BoJo” wants to avoid any triumphalism, so as not to arouse the still raw wounds and to act as a unifier.
On the bricks of the Prime Minister's residence, a Union Jack was projected, replaced by a countdown one hour before the exit clap, at 11 p.m.
In an address broadcast an hour earlier - but which the BBC snubbed since social networks had been chosen as a vector - Boris Johnson had promised
"resounding success"
,
"whatever the obstacles"
.
He also assured that this day marked
“the beginning of a new era of friendly cooperation”
with the EU.
And addressed the saddened “remainers”,
“those who feel a sense of anxiety and loss”
.
Also read: Theodore Zeldin: “Brexit, an indicator of a crisis of civilization”
Three hundred meters away, on Parliament Square, it was his former Brexit comrade, Nigel Farage, who was leading the dance.
Big Ben, hooded for renovation work, did not make his mark on the event, to the great dismay of the most fervent supporters of leaving the Union.
But there too, a countdown ticked off on a giant screen in front of a crowd of a few thousand people, Brexit supporters and simple onlookers mixed together.
The first, sometimes draped in national colors or dressed in fanciful attire, were often elderly.
The second, who came out of simple curiosity, were much younger.
The beer was flowing freely and some bodies were swaying under effects other than those of emotion.
In front of 10 Downing street in London Tolga AKMEN / AFP
Also read: With Brexit, Brussels is looking for a future without London
On the platform, the speakers followed one another before Nigel Farage closed the show, shortly before 11 p.m.
This was his hour of glory, certainly his last crowd bath as he no longer has much political space ahead of him.
“We won,”
insisted the Brexit Party,
“we are free, it is the victory of democracy
. ”
These interventions were interspersed with pieces of music coming from a sound system.
Then the crowd sang patriotic anthems,
“Rule Britannia”
and of course
“God Save The Queen”
.
A few rockets went up into the sky but there were no fireworks.
London did not go up in flames.
Eleven months of transition
But on February 1, nothing concretely changes for the British.
Despite its historical significance, this date marks the opening of a transition period which should last until December 31.
Eleven months during which the United Kingdom will continue to apply EU rules.
From Monday, Boris Johnson should begin to reveal his intentions for the tough negotiations that lie ahead.
In a letter to the British published in the Times this Saturday morning, Emmanuel Macron expressed his “deep sadness” at the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU, denying that France had been “tough” in the negotiations of the Brexit.
Recalling that France will celebrate this year the 80th anniversary of the June 18 Appeal by General de Gaulle, he assured that
“the French know what they owe to the British, who allowed the Republic to live”
.
But he warned that
“we cannot allow harmful competition to establish between us”
.
“The Channel has never succeeded in distancing our destinies, Brexit will not succeed either”
concluded the French president.
Read alsoThe European Union turns the page on a difficult year
Friday evening, however, some Brexiters said they were furious with Emannuel Macron's intervention broadcast a little earlier.
The French president spoke of the
“lies”
told during the Brexit campaign.
An
“insult”
directly aimed at Boris Johnson, they said, believing that the latter had probably not appreciated it.
Read alsoIn London, the French with Brexit sauce