Franco-British Summit: London will finance a detention center for migrants in France
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée, March 10, 2023. AP - Kin Cheung
Text by: RFI Follow
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After years of very complicated Franco-British relations successively linked to Brexit, to COVID and then to the case of submarines sold to Australia, Emmanuel Macron welcomed British Prime Minister ROSHI SUNAK on Friday March 10 at the Élysée.
Defense cooperation, military aid in Ukraine and, above all, fight against illegal immigration with France are on the menu of the meeting.
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Large smile for Emmanuel Macron on the steps of the Perron of the Élysée to welcome Rishi Sunak out of his car, the equally delighted air, says
Anastasia Becchio
for RFI.
Acongles, taps in the back, stop in front of the photographers before locking up for a first bilateral interview which lasted 1h20.
The two leaders were then joined by fourteen French and British ministers for a working lunch and the plenary session of this summit.
Agreement to slow down illegal immigration
Among the subjects on the agenda, the fight against illegal immigration, an important file for Rishi Sunak which must give wages to the most right of its electorate before the elections of next year.
"
It is crucial to break the circle of criminal gangs that facilitate people's movements
," said the British Prime Minister.
During the press conference, he announced the increase in funding paid to France (543 million euros) for the next three years to combat illegal immigration from France.
"
We must not manage this problem, we have to break it
," he said.
"
We are announcing a new detention center in the north of France, a new command center bringing together our teams for the first time (...) and 500 new additional agents patrolling the French beaches," said British Prime
Minister .
Drones and other surveillance technologies will complete the "
to increase the interception rate
" system.
LIVE |
36th Franco-British Summit: Follow the press conference of the President @emmanuelmacron and the Prime Minister @rishisunak.
https://t.co/yiuufgdvk
- Élysée (@elysee) March 10, 2023
There was also talk of energy security and the project of new nuclear power plant sizewell C, but also of Ukraine with the question of the supply of weapons and the formation of Ukrainian soldiers.
► Read also
:
Rishi Sunak received by Emmanuel Macron for a Franco-British summit of "reconnection"
A page turns into relations between Paris and London.
Where Liz Truss hesitated to say if the French president was a friend or enemy of the United Kingdom, his successor contrasts.
In an interview with Le Figaro
newspaper
, Rishi Sunak says it wants to "
open a new chapter with France
".
"
A great friend, surely
," he said.
The British Prime Minister says he has a great personal affection for France with which he is "
crucial,
he says
, to have a strong relationship
".
► To read also:
The bill against illegal immigration is unanimously against him in the United Kingdom
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