Emmanuel Macron receives Rishi Sunak in Paris this Friday for a summit aimed at drafting the “renewal” of the “essential” alliance between France and the United Kingdom after years of estrangement.
Fifteen days before King Charles III’s state visit to France on his first trip abroad, the French President welcomes the British Prime Minister to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, a sensitive issue on the other side of the Channel, and defense cooperation and military aid to Ukraine.
“Our long history, our closeness and our shared vision of global challenges mean that a close partnership between the UK and France is not only important, but essential,” Rishi Sunak said in a statement shortly before his arrival at the Élysée.
Multiple crises between the two countries
“As we face new and unprecedented threats, it is crucial to strengthen the foundation of our alliance to be prepared to meet the challenges of the future,” he added.
Which makes it easy to turn. In fact, relations have rarely been good between Emmanuel Macron and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and had deteriorated further with his short-lived successor, Liz Truss, who, for a time, refused to say whether the president French was a “friend or foe”. ” from United Kingdom.
From Brexit to the pandemic and a fierce dispute over alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, multiple crises had disrupted the tradition of annual summits, the latest of which dates back to 2018.
“Crucial”
The “priority” is, therefore, a “reconnection”, to “resume common work habits” between the two leaders, who will each be accompanied by seven ministers, it was pointed out in the Elysee.
On the British side, the emphasis is placed on the fight against illegal immigration, a source of tension between the two sides of the Channel.
Paris and London have negotiated “a reinforcement” of their cooperation and the means to control migratory flows from France, after the Sandhurst Treaty signed in 2018 and a new agreement concluded in November, according to both countries.
In the British conservative leader’s entourage, it is considered “crucial” to work “with the French to avoid crossings and the loss of human life in the English Channel”, while more than 45,000 immigrants arrived illegally on English shores in 2022 on boats improvised. , a record despite the proliferation of plans to combat this phenomenon.
“New Impetus”
Downing Street therefore hopes to “continue to strengthen patrols” to “crack down on ‘smuggling gangs’ and stop more boats”. This issue will be debated a few days after the presentation on Tuesday by the British Government of a controversial bill to drastically restrict the right to asylum, strongly denounced by the UN.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine also presents a common challenge for the first two European armies, the only two equipped with nuclear weapons in Europe, pushed to unite.
A context that allows “giving new impetus” to defense cooperation, said an adviser to the French president about this association set in stone by the Lancaster House Treaty in 2010 but silenced since Brexit.
Source: BFM TV
