People Are Declaring War Over a Plate of Crepes

France doesn't fuck around when it comes to food, we all know that. There can't be many countries willing to endure room-clearing flatulence for the sake of a good onion soup and don't even think about messing with vegetable fat in the fromage.

Yesterday, further evidence of France's gastronomic pride emerged when the internet erupted—as it is wont to do for minor transatlantic disagreements—over a photo showing plate of French crepes, stacked (quelle horreur!) to resemble a cake. The layers seemed to have been smothered with jam à la a Victoria sponge and a hearty slice had been cut out—presumably to be enjoyed with a nice cup of Earl Grey.

Sacré bleu.

Uploaded to Reddit with the caption: "A French colleague made crepes today. English people are Barbarians," it would appear that a French expat had lovingly crafted a batch of delicious crepes, only to see them fashioned into a crude representation of the English teatime favourite by his or her heathen coworkers.

The post clocked up almost a million views on Reddit, along with angry Imgur comments such as: "Non mais je rêve !!! Don't ask why we where at war for a hundred years (and we might again be given those barbaric actions) [sic]." Some even went so far as to compare the crepe-cake hybrid to the atrocities of historic Anglo-French wars, with one Reddit user writing: "Agincourt, Waterloo, and now this makes the hat trick."

A slightly overblown reaction to a plate of soggy pancakes? Mais non! Originating in the northwest of France, crepes are a much-loved staple of traditional French cuisine, flambéed with Grand Marnier to create the Crêpe Suzette dessert or garnished with cheese as a savoury galette.

While the photo's original poster did confirm that the anonymous French crepe-maker's office had an international staff, so the culprit "could have been anyone," it wasn't long before French newspapers picked up on the photo as an excuse for a healthy bout of Rosbif-bashing. Libération called the Frankensteinian crepe creation a "massacre" and "declaration of war" against France by Britain, even urging the French rugby team to avenge the barbaric pancakes by beating England in the upcoming Six Nations Championship game.

Now might not be the best time to tell France what goes on to its beloved crepes in America's IHOPs.