London and Paris show off their joint nuclear arsenal to Putin

LondonAt the end of the three days of the Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the United Kingdom, the French President and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have once again appeared at a joint press conference as guarantors of European firmness in supporting Ukraine in the face of Vladimir Putin's aggression. Beyond the cooperation on migration, economic, scientific and cultural matters on which a bilateral relationship is based on which is greatly strengthened after this week, Both leaders emphasized that defense and unwavering support for Ukraine are crucial in "the dangerous times we live in," according to Starmer.

That's why London and Paris have agreed to coordinate nuclear deterrence between the only two European armies that have this type of weapon. "From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to the continent will receive a joint response from our two nations," Starmer said. premier. "This is a message that our allies must hear, and so must our adversaries," Macron added, who also commented that both Paris and London have "the will to further deepen cooperation in terms of deterrence, whether at the political, capabilities or operational levels," and that is why they have decided to create "a joint structure, the group.

What is in practice the union of the Franco-British nuclear arsenal has been reflected in the declaration of Northwood, the military base in northwest London where they appeared, and represents an unprecedented step in European defense. The United Kingdom has around 225 nuclear chiefs and France has around 290.

Regarding Ukraine, once again, they fully support President Volodymyr Zelensky and insist on the relevance of the initiative called the Coalition of the Willing, launched at the end of February by Starmer and then by Starmer. In fact, Macron and Starmer had recently chaired a meeting of that commission uncreamed or only nominally, where, for the first time, there were representatives from the United States. Both leaders have limited themselves to repeating announcements made or hinted at previously. In this case, the creation of a new multinational force for Ukraine, based in Paris, which would be prepared to support a peace agreement when the time comes. But as has been seen in the last 48 hours, with brutal attacks like never before on KievPutin has no intention of negotiating anything, and the Kremlin has made it clear that it will not allow the presence of Western soldiers on Ukrainian territory.

"While Putin turns his back on peace, we are stepping up support for Ukraine to defend its people and force the Russian president to the negotiating table," Starmer said, perhaps overly voluntaristically. In addition to the commitment to nuclear coordination, Paris and London have also agreed to expand the scale of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), launched in 2010. "The force will go from the size of a brigade [10,000 men] to the size of an army corps, with as few as 50,000, with other European countries able to be added, and which could be made available to NATO," the president said. The partnership aims to "bring robustness and credibility to NATO's European pillar" and "give credibility" to the continent's strategic autonomy.

Pact on boats

Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron also sealed a pilot agreement this Thursday to try to stem the flow of boats and migrants crossing the English Channel daily, which London saw as a key aspect of the political summit held in Downing Street. The pact, known as "One in, One out," entails that the United Kingdom would accept one asylum seeker, likely with family ties to the country, for every migrant returned to France who has crossed the Channel illegally. Initially, this could be 50 people per week, provided the European Union and countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece, and Malta raise no objections. In fact, Macron referred to it: "The agreement will be finalized and signed once the prior legal examination is completed, with full transparency and understanding with the Commission and the EU Member States," while the initiative affects an external EU border.

Be that as it may, 50 people are very few compared to the average of 843 who have arrived in the country each week since the premier came to power in July of last year. This would amount to 2,600 migrants per year, according to calculations based on the latest available figures: 44,444 people will have arrived in Britain between July 7, 2024, and July 6, 2025.

new determination, the situation can be turned around," said Starmer, who is staking much of his credibility on this formula. premier fair He has been in power for a year and his popularity levels are very low. Furthermore, Nigel Farage's xenophobic Reform Party is an increasingly solid threat, at least in the polls, and is playing the immigration card to continue raising electoral expectations. In fact, Farage is once again making immigrants the scapegoat, as he did during the Brexit campaign, blaming them for the pressure on underfunded social services for over a decade and also for the lack of housing. The leader Brexiteer and populist has made the inviolability of the UK's borders a crusade on which he hopes to base the overtaking to the Conservatives and a possible electoral victory in 2029.

Starmer has asserted that for them, "it's about fulfilling what the British people demand." "We all agree that the situation in the Channel is unsustainable, it cannot continue like this, and that is why we are activating new tactics with greater determination to curb illegal immigration," he said. Asked about his government's involvement in the pilot program, Macron asserted that he is fully involved, but did not miss the opportunity to attack Brexit as the origin of the current crisis in the Channel. "I know this is not your case, Prime Minister, but many people in your country said that Brexit would allow us to fight illegal immigration more effectively. But, in fact, since Brexit, the United Kingdom has no migration agreement with the EU, which creates an incentive to come to the country, just the opposite of what Brexit promised."

In any case, as Christa Rottensteiner, speaking to the United Kingdom from the United Nations International Organization for Migration, highlighted on the BBC, "if the underlying causes are not addressed, dangerous routes will continue to exist." "Sudan, for example, is experiencing the largest displacement crisis in the world, with 4 million people forced to flee. Many of those crossing the canal are fleeing countries at war, such as Afghanistan, Iran, or Sudan," she said. This Thursday alone, Royal Navy border control patrols detained 220 people in the waters near the port of Dover.

In 2024, a total of 36,816 migrants arrived by boat to the islands. This year, up to July 6—not counting today's 220—21,117 have arrived, according to Migration Watch UK. This represents a 25% increase compared to 2023, and a 56% increase compared to the same period in 2024. However, it is legal immigration that, if anything, puts a strain on UK social services. Last year, 431,000 people entered the country legally. However, this figure represents a considerable decrease compared to the peak of 764,000, from June 2021 to June 2022.