Good morning. For the past seven years, the relationship between France and the UK has been marred by post-Brexit tensions that have created rows over everything from fishing rights to immigration. During her leadership campaign, Liz Truss said that the “jury was still out” on whether Emmanuel Macron was a friend or a foe – and under Boris Johson relations between the two countries plummeted to historic lows, with Macron reportedly referring to Johnson in private as a “clown” in charge of a “circus”.
The war in Ukraine has put things sharply back in focus however, and reinvigorated the appetite to move towards a new, more cooperative, dynamic. Rishi Sunak will meet with Macron today to discuss an array of issues in the first bilateral summit in five years. The agenda is jam packed: the refugee crisis in the Channel, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear programme, the environment, Brexit and more. Above all, they will show the world that Europe’s two biggest military powers are firmly aligned.
