The French Republic would like to remark that we are still awaiting the return of the pirated ship and it's cargo. Furthermore, we note that the Ottoman Empire has not yet apologized for the attack they have allowed to take place against the French fleet.
On the unfortunate incident in the Manche, we have started an enquiry, and the facts we could gather thus far are that
1) Communication was attempted with the ship through various means. No reply was received.
2) We received no warning about the ship's state from British authorities. We understand some of the reasons behind not issuing a warning, but we would prefer that, for the sake of British-French relations, to receive a notification of the situation, to avoid such incidents in the future.
3) Protocols for treatment of unknown ships while at war were re-affirmed after the use of ships flying incorrect flags in the Russo-Japanese war. We do regret, however, not notifying British naval authorities of the presence of unknown ships in the Manche before taking any action.
The enquiry will proceed, and we will await it's conclusion before issuing any more declarations on this subject.
