{"id":248728,"date":"2025-07-08T19:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/248728\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T19:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:00:10","slug":"macron-says-france-and-britain-will-save-europe-as-he-starts-a-state-visit-to-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/248728\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron says France and Britain will ‘save Europe’ as he starts a state visit to the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> on Tuesday urged Britain to stick close to its neighbors despite its exit from the European Union, saying France and the U.K. will \u201csave Europe\u201d by standing for democracy, law and international order in a dangerous world.<\/p>\n

On a state visit<\/a> that mixed royal pageantry with tough political talks<\/a> on Ukraine and migration, Macron said Europe must strengthen its economy and defenses and reduce its dependence \u201con both the U.S. and China.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macron\u2019s three-day trip, at the invitation of King Charles III<\/a>, is the first state visit to the U.K. by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the U.K. government\u2019s desire to reset relations with the bloc after Britain acrimoniously left the EU in 2020.<\/p>\n

Macron addressed members of both houses of Britain\u2019s Parliament packed into the building\u2019s ornate Royal Gallery. He said the two countries represent \u201ca world order based on law, justice and respect for territorial integrity, an order that is today being attacked on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,\u201d Macron said, adding that \u201cwe will save Europe by our example and our solidarity.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said that even though Britain has left the EU, \u201cthe United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines. Because defense and security, competitiveness, democracy \u2014 the very core of our identity \u2014 are connected across Europe as a continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pomp and politics<\/p>\n

The French president and his wife, Brigitte Macron<\/a>, were treated to the full force of British ceremonial charm, a far cry from the chilly relations of 2022, when then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the \u201cjury is out\u201d on whether Macron was a friend or a foe.<\/p>\n

The Macrons were greeted on a red carpet laid over the tarmac at London\u2019s RAF Northolt air base by Prince William and his wife Catherine \u2014 wearing a dress by French design house Christian Dior \u2014 before being met by King Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor, west of London. <\/p>\n

A military band played the French and U.K. national anthems as all four set out for the royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolor flags.<\/p>\n

Later, the king and queen will host a state banquet for their guests. The monarch is expected to steer clear of politics but will make a broad appeal to international cooperation at the banquet. According to remarks obtained before the event, he will say that Britain and France \u201cface a multitude of complex threats\u201d that \u201cknow no borders\u201d \u2014 and that \u201cno fortress can protect us against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018New tactics to stop boats\u2019<\/p>\n

Politics will take center stage on Wednesday, when Macron sits down for talks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> on migration, defense and investment \u2014 including a 12.5% stake by French energy firm EDF in a new nuclear power plant planned for eastern England.<\/p>\n

Macron also came bearing a tantalizing cultural gift: an agreement to send the Bayeux Tapestry<\/a> to Britain for the first time in more than 900 years. <\/p>\n

The 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry shows the invasion of England in 1066 by the Norman French army of William the Conqueror. It will go on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.<\/p>\n

At a meeting on Wednesday and a U.K.-France summit on Thursday, Macron and Starmer will discuss ways to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats<\/a> and try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine<\/a>, despite apparent U.S. indifference to the idea and Russia\u2019s refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor.<\/p>\n

Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the U.K., either by stowing away in trucks or \u2014 after a clampdown on that route \u2014 in small boats across one of the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes.<\/p>\n

The U.K. has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase patrols of beaches<\/a> and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs. <\/p>\n

It has all had only a limited impact. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2024, and more than 20,000 people made the crossing<\/a> in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50% from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died attempting the crossing.<\/p>\n

British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop the boats, and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies<\/a> with knives in recent days.<\/p>\n

France is also considering a U.K. proposal for a \u201cone-in, one-out\u201d deal that would see France take back some migrants who reached Britain, in return for the U.K. accepting some of those in France.<\/p>\n

Macron said the leaders would try \u201cto fix today what is a burden for our two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrance and the U.K. have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Keeping Ukraine in focus<\/p>\n

Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support<\/a> for Ukraine, though they have taken contrasting approaches<\/a> to U.S. President Donald Trump, with Macron more willing to challenge the American president than the emollient Starmer.<\/p>\n

Britain and France have led efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and U.S. security guarantees.<\/p>\n

Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. British officials say the \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d idea is alive and well, with Macron and Starmer due to join an international videoconference on Thursday to discuss planning for the force.<\/p>\n

Macron said the coalition was a sign that \u201cEuropeans will never abandon Ukraine \u2013 never.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Britain to stick close to its neighbors despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[5108,48798,748,51,5293,32,34,393,77,299,1699,16831,4179,4884,40,8614,807,518,388,1749,1144,38780,285,7796,7661,712,16,15,11654,1764,7660,96168,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-248728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-asylum","11":"tag-brigitte-macron","12":"tag-britain","13":"tag-business","14":"tag-diplomacy","15":"tag-donald-trump","16":"tag-emmanuel-macron","17":"tag-england","18":"tag-entertainment","19":"tag-europe","20":"tag-european-union","21":"tag-france-government","22":"tag-general-news","23":"tag-great-britain","24":"tag-immigration","25":"tag-international-agreements","26":"tag-keir-starmer","27":"tag-king-charles-iii","28":"tag-lifestyle","29":"tag-liz-truss","30":"tag-northern-ireland","31":"tag-political-refugees","32":"tag-politics","33":"tag-royalty","34":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","35":"tag-scotland","36":"tag-uk","37":"tag-united-kingdom","38":"tag-united-kingdom-government","39":"tag-wales","40":"tag-war-and-unrest","41":"tag-william-the-conqueror","42":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}