“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness.”
Macron with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier on Tuesday in London. Credit: Bloomberg
Starmer is aiming for a “one in, one out” agreement that means France will accept the return of asylum seekers who cross the channel, as long as the UK accepts some asylum seekers who have family in the UK.
UK government figures show that about 20,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year to try to settle in Britain – up 48 per cent on the same period last year – fuelling an angry political debate about how to stop the boats.
In a dramatic escalation last week, French police used knives to slash an inflatable boat with more than a dozen asylum seekers in shallow water on a beach south of Calais, forcing the passengers back to the sand.
While French authorities said there was no change in their policy, the UK government wants the French police to intervene more forcefully.
Behind the scenes, Macron is said to be asking Starmer to toughen welfare rules, family reunification and other measures in the UK to make the country less attractive to asylum seekers.
Macron looks on as King Charles speaks during the banquet.Credit: Getty Images
The Telegraph newspaper cited government figures in Paris who said Macron also wanted Starmer to crack down on illegal work, a key factor when asylum seekers are not allowed to work but seek “black market” jobs such as food delivery drivers.
The lavish state banquet was held at Windsor Castle.Credit: Getty Images
In a remark about Brexit that triggered blowback, Macron told parliament the UK decision to leave the European Union was “deeply regrettable”, but their trade would grow despite this.
Former Conservative home secretary Suella Braverman said the “sooner Macron leaves the UK the better” because he had criticised the British people and their “cry for freedom” with Brexit.
Regardless of those complaints, Starmer and Macron have worked for months to convey a stronger sense of public alliance between the UK and France, in contrast with the friction across the Atlantic with US President Donald Trump.
While Trump has sent shifting signals about his support for Ukraine, Starmer and Macron have promised more military aid and will hold a meeting on Thursday which is expected to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a wide-ranging address, Macron said Europe will “never abandon Ukraine” and repeated his calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, but his major theme was that France and the UK would work more closely together despite their differences over Brexit.
“Let’s be sure we will meet again for years and decades, because we are linked by our geography, by our past, but we are linked by our common future,” Macon said in his address.
“And the only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges of our times, would be to go together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.
“This is our common destiny. Long live the United Kingdom, long live France.”
