Macron in the British Parliament: "We Europeans will never abandon Ukraine"

LondonBritish pomp and the magnitude French troops have met this Tuesday in Windsor. With 41 salutes and The Marseillaise, King Charles III and Queen Camilla received shortly after midday the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, in the first state visit of a French leader since 2008 and also the first of a head of state of the European Union since BrexitA ride in an open-air carriage—Macron and the King in one, and the Queen and Brigitte Macron in another, followed by a third with Prince William and Kate Middleton—through the streets of a fairy-tale village filled with people who didn't hesitate to come out to see the spectacle, was the first of three days of intense diplomatic and political events, which will culminate on Thursday with a summit with Prime Minister Keir.

If the French president's presence has a marked bilateral tone, it also has an important European dimension, related to the security of the continent and Putin's aggression in Ukraine. In this sense, Macron reminded the MPs and Lords gathered this afternoon in the Royal Gallery of the Palace of Westminster: "We have worked hard in recent years to support the Ukrainian people and help them resist. Every time Vladimir Putin's Russia advances into Ukraine, the threat is ours." And he referred to the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which was "launched last February as a signal that Europeans will never abandon Ukraine." "Never, because it is our security and our common values that are at stake."

These values also involve working to achieve peace in the Middle East, despite Europe's lack of firmness with Benjamin Netanyahu and the double games played by the different European foreign ministries since the start of the Gaza war. On this point, Macron concluded: "That is why the two-state solution and the recognition of the State of Palestine is also the only way to build peace and stabilize all regions. It is a pragmatic approach that aligns with our common refusal [of the United Kingdom and France] to tolerate the threat posed by a threat."

Turning the Page on Brexit

Macron's trip is laden with symbolism. On the one hand, to jointly confront "complex threats," After more than three years of war in Ukraine, which King Charles III referred to in his speech at the gala banquet held in Windsor, where the Macrons are staying, as Buckingham Palace is undergoing restoration work.

On the other hand, it is also to definitively turn the page on the tensions caused by Brexit, which led to remarkable episodes: for example, when Macron called Boris Johnson a "clown" (December 2021) or when, weeks before she was appointed premier, Liz Truss said (August 2022) that "the jury is still out on whether the French president is friend or foe."

In fact, shortly before landing in the United Kingdom at noon, Macron had commented that Prime Minister Starmer had committed to "exploring new means of cooperation" with the European Union, statements that have put everyone on guard. Brexiteers. "The United Kingdom's expressed willingness to strengthen ties with the Union is a powerful signal that I welcome," the President said. "It collectively commits us to exploring new means of cooperation that respect our mutual interests."

These ideas were also referred to in his speech to the plenary session of the Parliament, when Macron stated: "It has taken us several years, but we have agreed on the foundations of our new relationship" after Brexit, "a decision that we respect, although we consider it deeply regrettable."

After the speech, Macron, Keir Starmer, Brigitte Macron and Victoria Starmer also offered flowers at the statues of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square and Charles de Gaulle in Carlton Gardens, right in front of where the headquarters of Free France was during the Second World War. An offering that evoked the Paris-London alliance – both nuclear-armed powers in Europe – between 1939 and 1945, and which also projects itself "into the common future," in the words of the French president.

In this same sense, during his speech prior to the gala dinner in Windsor, Charles III stressed the vital importance of collaboration between both countries in the face of challenges "that arise from multiple directions," and which they must face together as "friends and allies [...] two nations that share not only some consequences in the world." Charles III, who He visited France on one of his first trips abroad after to be crowned, has always been very forthcoming.

A bilateral migration pact

Since the restart of the relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom fostered by the Labour government At a summit in London in mid-May, Macron and Starmer have been working for some time on an agreement under which France would accept the return of migrants who have crossed the English Channel illegally in small boats, in exchange for the United Kingdom taking in a similar number of legal asylum seekers from France. The British and French have not yet finalized all the details of the pact, which could be threatened by opposition from a group of five Mediterranean countries—Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus—who fear that a bilateral framework for action on immigration between London and Paris would increase pressure on their borders. Rushing to announce an agreement before it can be implemented could trigger an even greater increase in migrant crossings this summer. Sleeve and return them to French territory In fact, last week, and in front of the BBC cameras, members of the gendarmerie punctured rubber dinghies with knives when they were barely at sea to prevent the number of migrant arrivals in 2025 from setting sail by this time in 2024.

The state visit will close on Thursday with the meeting in Downing Street with the premier British. Keir Starmer hopes to sign an immigration agreement with Paris that will allow him to garner headlines to counter the negative reports of recent days regarding the increase in boat arrivals across the English Channel.