Macron and Sunak ‘bromance’ signals intent to reset Franco-British ties

But a crucial difference between the two leaders is Brexit – with Sunak an unwavering supporter of leaving the EU in 2016 and Macron a staunch pro-European. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

When Emmanuel Macron rushed to hug the new UK prime minister at their first meeting in Egypt this week, some called it a “bromance”.

Even though the French president’s hands-on embrace of world leaders is almost always called a “bromance” – from Justin Trudeau to Mohammed bin Salman and Donald Trump (a relationship which eventually soured), Macron and Rishi Sunak’s grinning and back-slapping stood out as symbolic.