French President Emmanuel Macron said France and the UK would seek to “deepen our cooperation” as he arrived in the country Tuesday, the first state visit by a European Union leader since Brexit.
Relations between London and Paris were frosty for years after Britain voted to leave the union, but have — like Britain’s ties with the rest of the continent — begun to thaw.
“Together, we will address the major challenges of our time: security, defence, nuclear energy, space, innovation, artificial intelligence, migration, and culture,” Macron said on X as he arrived for the three-day visit.
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have a lot to discuss: Starmer is under pressure over migrants crossing the English Channel, a flow he hopes France will help curb, and the leaders of Europe’s only nuclear-armed powers are both keen to support Ukraine as the US retreats.