Why was the Entente Cordiale formed?

To improve relations with France:

• Since Britain took Egypt in the 1882 Fashoda incident, France and Britain had been hostile towards each other.
• Other European powers saw that Britain's bad relations with France weakened it's position in Europe.
• Britain and France were rivals in Africa and Asia. The British had gained satisfactory compromises over disputes in West Africa, Sudan and south-east Asia in the 1880s and 90s, but tensions continued.
• Getting an agreement with France could not only give Britian greater freedom of action but also keep defence costs down.

The threat of Germany:

• The arms race between Britain and Germany raised tensions between the two countries.
• The Selborne Memorandum: Germany's fleet were 'designed for a possible conflict with the British fleet'.
• Germany was already part of the Triple Alliance and Britain had failed to form an alliance with Germany. It was obvious that if there was a war that Germany and Britain would be on opposing sides.
• France were already opposed to Germany because of Germany taking some of France's provinces. This meant that it was better for France and Britain to unite on an opposing side to Germany rather than being isolated which would place them in a weak position.

Britain wanted a relationship with Russia:

• The British government was still worried about threats from Russia, more so than any other country because Russia endangered India whcih was the most important part of Britain's empire.
• Lansdowne hoped that the Entente would be a step towards forming a relationship with Russia.