French President Emmanuel Macron held talks Wednesday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as the issue of small-boat crossings of the Channel dominated the second day of his UK state visit.
It was all smiles as Starmer welcomed Macron to his Downing Street residence and office. The UK leader said, "we think alike; we work together," as he described relations "as strong as" ever.
Macron called the "partnership and the friendship" between the two countries "a game changer" on a range of issues.
But the ever-rising number of migrants arriving on England's southern coast from northern France has become a major political headache for Starmer.
He was expected to push the French leader to do more to stop the crossings as they met over lunch.
London hopes to strike a "one in, one out" deal to send small boat migrants back to the continent in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in Europe who have a British link, the domestic PA news agency reported.
There has been mounting frustration in the UK over funding for France to prevent migrants from setting off and a law that prevents police from intercepting migrant boats while in the water close to shore.
"We will only provide funding that delivers for our priorities," Starmer told parliament.
The UK had persuaded the French "to review their laws and tactics on the north coast to take more effective action," he added.
"I'll be discussing this at meetings with President Macron," he added.
A Burden
After he took power a year ago, Starmer promised to "smash the gangs," getting thousands of migrants onto the small boats, only to see numbers rise to record levels.
More than 21,000 migrants have crossed from northern France to southeast England in rudimentary vessels this year as the far-right soars in popularity.
In a speech to parliament Tuesday, Macron promised to deliver on measures to cut the number of migrants crossing the English Channel, describing the issue as a "burden" to both countries.
He said France and the UK had a "shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness."
The talks at Downing Street came after a first day dominated by pomp and a warm welcome from King Charles III and members of the royal family.
Tuesday's royal welcome from King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, included a horse-drawn carriage procession, a 41-gun salute and a banquet at Windsor Castle, west of London, for the president and his wife, Brigitte.
“Entente Amicale”
The Macrons began the second day of their visit by paying their respects at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor's St George's Chapel.
Macron then discussed biodiversity issues with the king during a stroll in the castle grounds before he bade farewell to his host and headed to central London.
This is the first state visit by a French president to Britain since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 and the first by a European Union head of state since Brexit in 2020.
After Britain's acrimonious departure from the European Union, the two countries smoothed tensions in 2023 during a state visit by the famously Francophile king and a summit with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in France.
The latest visit is a sign of a further warming of post-Brexit relations, although Macron jibed at the decision during Wednesday's speech to AI entrepreneurs and scientists at Imperial College London.
"I'm not sure you've fixed migration and financial issues... much better than with the EU," he said.
At Tuesday night's state banquet in Macron's honor, Charles toasted a new UK-France "entente... no longer just cordiale, but now amicale", prompting Macron to laud "this entente amicale that unites our two fraternal peoples in an unwavering alliance".
Earlier, Macron had revealed the loan of the famous Bayeux Tapestry depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England ahead of a visit Wednesday to the British Museum where he and Starmer will formally announce the deal.
On Wednesday evening, Macron will meet with the business community at a dinner held in his honor at the Guildhall, a historic building in the City of London, the capital's financial district, with 650 guests in attendance.
AFP
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