Large bomb Emmanuel Macron goes to the United Kingdom on Tuesday 8 on Thursday, July 10 for three days of state visit. This is the first in the entire channel of a leader of the European Union of Brexit and the first for a French president from Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.
Qualified on Monday as “historical” by Downing Street, the office of the British Prime Minister, this visit aims to consolidate the bilateral relationship between the two countries and underline its convergence in various topics, beginning with support to Ukraine, after years of diplomatic cold. Therefore, it is an extension of the approach with the European Union made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer since 2024.
This state visit will be marked by many symbolic gestures and devices, faithful to the tradition of British royalty. Emmanuel Macron will be remarkably received with large fanfare by King Carlos III.
In total, as indicated by a document from the British Ministry of Defense on Tuesday, 950 soldiers of the three armed bodies will accompany this official visit.
Carriage procession and troop review
The French president and his wife will be welcome on Tuesday when they reached the Northolt military base by the heir prince William and his wife Kate. Then they will attend a welcome ceremony in the streets of Windsor, east of London, where the most famous residences of the British sovereigns are out of Buckingham palace.
This ceremony will be in the presence of King Carlos III and Queen Consort Camilla. They will attend an important military reception parade, during which the British Armed Forces will solemnly welcome the French head of state.
Dozens of soldiers will walk in music throughout the procession. “650 people and 70 horses will support the reception parade, including 380 people responsible for the surveillance of the streets and 180 people of the honorary guard in the Château de Windsor quadrilateral,” said the British Ministry of Defense.
“At the moment when the French president’s foot will play the first step of the platform, the artillery of real horses of the King’s troop, commanded by Major Luke Wadman, will be a save of 41 cannons from the blows of the private house of the domestic park, and the honorable artillery company will be safe from 41 cannons of the fortress of his Majesty, the tour of London,” the Ministry of London adds. Ministry
British and French hymns will be played, as well as Brandi flags. The French president will also be invited to participate in a review of the troops. The Macron couple and the British monarchs will travel to a carriage procession to Windsor Castle.
Taxes and speeches
A welcome lunch will organize calmly in the palace. On the afternoon of Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron will visit the Abbaye of Westminster, a place of burial from the kings and queens of England, but also of famous men and women, before going to the Royal Gallery. From there, he will give a speech in English to the two cameras of the British Parliament, the members of the Chamber of Lores and the combined municipalities.
Emmanuel Macron should present crowns at the foot of the statues of the two figures of the two countries: that of Winston Churchill against Big Ben and that of Gaulle General, erected in front of the building that received the French government in exile during World War II.
Finally, the day will end with a state dinner, again in Windsor Castle. King Carlos III and Emmanuel Macron will give a speech there against around 150 guests.
Summit for Ukraine
On Wednesday he will begin with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in El Castillo, where the latter is buried. Then, in the Program for Emmanuel Macron: Discussions on the environment with King Carlos III, exchanges artificial intelligence with students, scientists and businessmen, a cultural visit to the British Museum in London or a meal in “the city”.
The head of state must meet Keir Starmer for a bilateral interview. One of the main issues must be immigration and, in particular, the management of asylum seekers who cross the channel to reach the United Kingdom from France. A record number of people arrived in Britain in the first six months of this year.
The highlight of this state visit: the 37th Franco-British summit that will take place in 10 Downing Street this Thursday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will focus on immigration and defense.
Attached to weigh on the Ukrainian archive, the two leaders’ leaders in a videoconference meeting of the countries of “voluntary coalition”, a British initiative to establish a framework for the establishment of a lasting peace to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In particular, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Source: BFM TV
