Bronte's Gallophobia in a Modern Context

To help understand the gallophobia that animates Charlotte Bronte's Villette, have a look at this BBC article on the Royal Navy's bicentenary re-enactment of the Battle of Trafalgar. The antagonism the English feel toward the French is palpable. One of the event's organisers -- defending the decision to use "red" & "blue" fleets in the re-enactment instead of English & French -- felt the need to assert that "This will not be a French-bashing opportunity."
Read the full article, and Google some of its key-words if you're interested enough, for a better sense of the atmosphere which bred the Yorkshire Bronte's aggressive patriotism.