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I don't understand the structure of "which they are." Does it mean "which are infringements and they are such proposals"?

France and other countries regard such proposals as infringements on their national sovereignty, which, of course, they are.

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  • Yes, it does. The proposals (they) are (something, which is in this case) infringements.
    – skymningen
    Commented Sep 24, 2013 at 12:11

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In the first part of the sentence, the author is merely stating how France and other countries think that the proposals are infringements on national sovereignty. In the second part of the sentence, the author is proclaiming full agreement with that position.

It would be similar to if I said:

The upvoters believe this question is very good question, which, of course, it is.

The second part of that sentence shows that I agree: it's indeed a good question. Were that not my belief, though, I might write instead:

The upvoters believe this question is very good question; however, it is not.

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  • "Were that not my belief, though, I might write instead"- Does it mean "If it was not my belief, I might write instead"? If it is, why did you use "were"? Looks like, in your very answer, you gave birth to an interesting question!(which I personally like) :-)
    – Mistu4u
    Commented Sep 24, 2013 at 15:43
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    @Mistu4u - Go to this web page, scroll down to where it says Present Hypothetical Statements — "Irrealis". Note the example sentence there: Were I a millionaire, I could buy a house. That's why I worded it the way I did; it's a mood that shows I am speaking in the hypothetical. (In this case, I didn't want anyone to misconstrue my example sentence to mean that I didn't like the question.)
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Sep 24, 2013 at 17:32

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