Macron kicks off ‘historic’ UK state visit
French President Emmanuel Macron began a three-day state visit to Britain on Tuesday, which saw him address parliament and rekindle a purportedly warm relationship with King Charles III.
Macron and his wife Brigitte were greeted off the presidential plane at an air base northwest of London by heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales.
“Together, we will address the major challenges of our time: security, defence, nuclear energy, space, innovation, artificial intelligence, migration, and culture,” he posted, vowing to “deepen our cooperation in a concrete, effective, and lasting way”.
Their discussions are expected to focus on aid to war-torn Ukraine and bolstering defence spending, as well as joint efforts to stop migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats – a potent political issue in Britain.
It is the first state visit by an EU head of state since the UK’s acrimonious 2020 departure from the bloc, and the first by a French president since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.
Calling it “historic”, Starmer’s office said the visit would showcase “the breadth of the existing relationship” between Britain and France.
It added that Starmer would “aim to drive forward progress on tackling irregular migration, enhancing our defence and security co-operation and boosting trade and investment”.
Macron’s Francophile host King Charles III has called ties with Britain’s cross-Channel neighbour “indispensable” and the two men are believed to have a warm rapport.
The king made a 2023 state visit to France, one of his first after ascending the throne and widely regarded as a success.
Source: France24
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