Latest news with #MacronVisit
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Deal or no deal, Macron and Starmer still won't stop the boats
The relationship between the UK and France was one of the most conspicuous casualties of Brexit process. So there will have been big sighs of relief in Downing Street at the evident success of Emmanuel Macron's State Visit to the UK and the summit that followed. The French president took a full three days out of his schedule to spend in this country – that is a long time by today's standards. Ceremonial Britain, for its part, pulled out all the stops. The sun shone, the flags flew – and the undoubted result is an improved diplomatic atmosphere that should help to consign some of the adverse Brexit fall-out to the past. To the extent that better diplomatic relations improve the prospects for solving, rather than just smoothing over, aggravations, a new chapter has opened. And the emblem of this – signalled days in advance by the prime minister, but seemingly not tied down until now, is what has been billed the 'one-in, one-out' agreement on Channel crossings. It can be argued that there are more significant issues potentially dividing the UK and France than the so-called 'small boats', which account for a relatively small proportion of new arrivals in the UK. Those more significant issues would include defence, our respective Atlantic and European allegiances, and nuclear cooperation – this last, in fact, being the subject of a new agreement during Macron's visit which could prove the more important in the longer term than anything else that was decided. At the popular and domestic political level, however, it is no contest – not for the UK public and not for its government either. Having pledged to stop the boats, smash the gangs and scale back the use of asylum hotels, this government has presided over a near-50 per cent rise in small boat arrivals. It is one of the most abject and visible failures of its first year in office. No wonder Sir Keir Starmer seemed so desperate, in the days before the UK-France summit, to secure some sort of agreement, almost any agreement, on the subject with France. Well, an agreement, of a limited kind, was reached. And the positive aspect is that the UK and France are showing that they can talk to each other on sensitive topics once again, which, in turn, holds out the prospect of cooperation on other things. This is a small step towards the normality that pertained before the UK's vote to leave the EU. The agreement as reached, however, and announced as "ground-breaking" by Starmer with undisguised satisfaction at his press conference with Macron, raises many questions both about how it will work in practice and whether it will function as any sort of deterrent at all. First, it is no more than a pilot project – the word 'pilot' being rather swallowed in Starmer's delivery - which makes the commitment seem less than whole-hearted. And where one side is hyper-keen for the arrangement to work, and the other side – France – perhaps rather less so, the fragility of the terms should be clear. Second, in the same vein, there is a major imbalance in political interests here. The UK government needs to show that it is getting a grip on the boats, and that means that the number of arrivals must fall. But the French interest is a bit different. Ideally, it needs to show that the migrant camps – and the squalor and the violence they spawn – are shrinking. While a source of discontent locally, however, the camps are nothing like as prominent an issue nationally as are the small boats in the UK. And this means, third, that the boats are fundamentally a UK problem; a problem that stems from the number of people harbouring a 'British dream' and a problem of UK maritime security. British politicians like to blame the French for inadequate policing on their side of the Channel. But it could be said to be in French interests to have the migrants leave – and anyway, what civilised country sets out to prevent people leaving? Watching French police slash an inflatable boat in the water last week may have pleased the Starmer government and public opinion, but what if it had been Turkey, or Russia, slashing boats to stop people leaving? It is hard not to see quite a basic ethical, as well as safety, issue here. One-in, one-out hardly touches these questions. Fourth, the numbers affected one way or another by this pilot project are small. If even the mooted maximum 50 individuals are returned to France every week, this is a fraction of the thousands currently arriving. And even if it is one in, one out, with every person returned to France being matched by someone coming the other way who claims a family tie with the UK, it is hard to see how this will discourage many, still less discredit the 'business model' for the boats. Fifth, on the subject of family ties with the UK. At least some of current small boat arrivals are related to people already here, but who are not in a position to sponsor them, whether for lack of legal residency, insufficient means, or the remoteness of the relationship. And this poses a question. Could this agreement create a new route for family members who would not otherwise qualify to come to the UK, so undercutting rules already in place? These are longer-term considerations, of course, and it is hard to see the prime purpose of the one-in, one-out agreement as much more than a public relations exercise to try to persuade the UK public that something is being done. And while the balance may be in Starmer's favour today, there could turn out to be a political cost. If the effect of one-in, one-out is either no change, or change in the wrong direction, this will go down as another misjudged policy decision on the part of the current occupant of No 10. How many more, it will then be asked, can he afford?
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Masterchef UK star sacked amid misconduct allegations
United Kingdom correspondent Grace Thomas spoke to Lisa Owen about the second day of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK, as well as Greg Wallace, the face of Masterchef UK for 20 years, who has been sacked after dozens of people came about alleged misconduct Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
King Charles and Queen Camilla share behind-the-scenes video of State Banquet at Windsor Castle
The Royal Family has shared behind-the-scenes footage of the final preparations carried out ahead of the State Banquet held for Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron on Tuesday (8 July). Place names can be seen for the King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as for the French couple. The monarch can also be seen inspecting the grand display and mahogany table at St George's Hall. The French president and his wife kicked off their three-day state visit with a trip to Windsor after landing at RAF Northolt, where they were greeted by Princess Kate and Prince William. As well as the Royals and Macrons in attendance, famous faces with a spot at the table include Mick Jagger and Elton John.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Macron and wife Brigitte put on a united front
Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte put on a united front during a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer following an awkward encounter earlier in the day. The French President walked arm in arm with the First Lady as they took part in a wreath laying ceremony with the UK Prime Minister and his wife Victoria at the statue of Sir Winston Churchill. Both leaders each laid a wreath at the base of the monument in Parliament Square before a British Army bugler played The Last Post. They were heckled by a small pro-Gaza protest calling for an end to arms sales to Israel and the recognition of Palestine. Members of the public shushed the protesters following The Last Post. The band of the Welsh Guards then played the national anthems of France and Britain before Sir Keir and Mr Macron departed to lay more wreaths by a statue of Charles De Gaulle. Earlier in the day, President Macron laid another wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior alongside his wife inside Westminster Abbey. The couple were joined by the Sub-Dean of Westminster Abbey, Reverend David Stanton, who led prayers in a moment of reflection. Mr and Mrs Macron appeared to brush off any animosity following an icy interaction just moments after landing in the UK on Tuesday morning. The French President was left red-faced after arriving at RAF Northolt in west London this morning, where the couple were welcomed by the Prince and Princess of Wales. After President Macron disembarked the plane he extended a helping hand to the First Lady as she walked down the steps. But Mrs Macron appeared to ignore the gesture and instead kept holding the handrail as she walked down, leaving her husband to awkwardly drop his hand. And just seconds later, the French leader suffered another fumbling faux pas as he went to greet William and Kate, who had been patiently waiting on the runway. He first embraced Prince William with a long handshake before turning to the Princess and offering her an unconventional kiss on the hand. The gesture was made even more awkward as President Macron appeared to miss her hand entirely, instead giving her an 'air kiss' just above it. Later on, the Macrons were seen in a car waiting to leave the base - and relations appeared frosty, with Mrs Macron looking at her phone after getting it out of her bag. It comes after Mrs Macron sparked a storm in May when she was seen pushing her husband's face away with both hands before they disembarked a plane in Vietnam. Later in the afternoon, the two couples were joined by King Charles and Queen Camilla as they enjoyed a carriage procession through Windsor. The King and Mr Macron waved from the 1902 State Landau to crowds gathered on the streets, followed by Camilla and Mrs Macron in the Semi-State Landau. The French President then travelled to London to see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. The tomb is the resting place of an unidentified British soldier who died in the First World War and was brought back to London. He was buried on Armistice Day in 2020, two years after the war ended, and his grave contains soil from France. The tomb also serves as a poignant memorial to all the WW1 soldiers who died but were not buried in any known grave. Over the years it has become a tradition for Royal brides to place bouquets of flowers on the grave as an act of remembrance for fallen servicemen. This tradition was started by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1923 and upheld by her daughter Queen Elizabeth II and the Princess of Wales. Reverend David Stanton reads a prayer as President Macron and his wife take part in the wreath laying ceremony Before his meeting with Sir Keir, Macron delivered a historic address to Westminster politicians, where he said that illegal immigration was a 'burden' on both countries. He said he would work with the PM – who he referred to as 'dear Keir' – on preventing people from crossing the Channel. But he pointed out that those trying to cross to Britain made up a third of all migrants entering the EU's Shengen free movement area and called for continent–wide moves to stop the flow. In a wide-ranging speech he also said that Brexit had been 'regrettable', though he respected Britain's decision to leave. He also reiterated his desire for a Palestinian state to be recognised, and urged Europe to loosen its ties with both China and the United States. President Macron and Sir Keir then travelled by car from the Palace of Westminster to the statue in Parliament Square, where they laid two wreaths by Churchill's statue. They also laid more wreaths by a statue of Charles De Gaulle, where they were joined by veterans of the First World War.
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Macron's Farage snub will come back to haunt him
The first thing to understand is that Emmanuel Macron needs to make a success of his state visit to Britain even more than Keir Starmer. He's been a lame-duck president ever since he called a snap general election last year that he resoundingly lost. Macron chose his two handpicked PMs for their supposed capacity to avoid no-confidence votes in the National Assembly – and not much else. The first, Michel Barnier, a 74-year-old moderate Gaullist of Brexit negotiations fame, duly fell when hard-Right and hard-Left briefly joined forces last December. The second, François Bayrou, a prickly old-style provincial Centrist baron, also 74, has been slaloming ever since to avoid the same fate: he may still be hanging on by a nail, but he has achieved the dubious record of being the most unpopular PM of the Fifth Republic, with only 14 per cent of the French population having a favourable opinion of him. French PMs are usually chosen to shield the sitting president by putting their names to unpopular policies. (Le président takes all the credit for anything that looks good). All Macron's got left, pace the De Gaulle-designed Constitution of the Fifth Republic, is what is known as the president's domaine réservé: foreign affairs and defence. His visit to King Charles, his address to Parliament, his updating of the Lancaster House military agreements between the UK and France should all contribute to burnish his image. Add an open coach ride with the Prince and Princess of Wales, a reception at Windsor Castle in an atmosphere of glittering bonhomie – Brigitte Macron and Queen Camilla actually do like one another, and share an easygoing sense of humour – and it seemed hard for the reset of British-French relations to fail. And then Macron, supported by the same technocrats and diplomats that put France at the forefront of the EU's intransigence over Brexit negotiations, decided that while he would entertain the leaders of the main British political parties, he would absolutely not meet Nigel Farage. 'Reform has only 4 sitting MPs', we hacks were briefed by underlings. 'It's not representative.' France's excellent ambassador to the Court of St. James, Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne, is no doubt aware that Reform polls higher than any other British party; you might think keeping a connection with any opposition leader is part of her job. After all, Farage was an active MEP for years, and has occasionally evoked fond memories of his time in Strasbourg. Macron's snub of Farage is an expression of contempt for populist politicians. It's likely that the French president also means to tar Farage with the same brush as Le Pen and her deputy Jordan Bardella. Reform voters, like Le Pen's, must be ringfenced; their leaders must be kept outside any kind of political debate at the very moment when many of their arguments have become mainstream. Macron is playing French politics here. He hopes that the non-Melenchonista Left might support whatever initiatives he will dream of in the next 18 months; he wants to present himself as a bulwark against the populist Right. Those who will remember the slight against Farage are Right-wingers both in France and in Britain – and possibly the King, who, following his mother's footsteps, has always made a point of not alienating any of his subjects. Should Prime Minister Farage one day come to Buckingham Palace, King Charles will certainly receive his allegiance and put him down in his diary for every Wednesday.
