Fifteen days before a State visit to France by King Charles III for his first trip abroad, the French President welcomes the British Prime Minister to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, a sensitive subject across the Channel, and cooperation on the defense 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, it is essential,” Rishi Sunak said in a statement shortly before his arrived at the Elysée.

“As we face new and unprecedented threats, it is crucial to strengthen the foundations of our alliance to be ready to face the challenges of the future,” he added.

What facilitate a turn.

Relations have indeed rarely been good between Emmanuel Macron and ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and they had further deteriorated with his short-lived successor Liz Truss who had, for a time, refused to say whether the French president was a "friend or foe" of the United Kingdom.

United Kingdom: illegal crossings of the English Channel © Jonathan WALTER / AFP

From Brexit to the pandemic to a sharp falling out over alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, multiple crises had interrupted the tradition of annual summits, the last dating back to 2018.

The "priority" is therefore a "reconnection", to "resume common working habits" between the two leaders, who will each be accompanied by seven ministers, it is emphasized at the Elysée.

"Crack Down on Gangs"

On the British side, the emphasis is on the fight against illegal immigration, a source of tension between the two sides of the Channel.

Paris and London have negotiated "a strengthening" of their cooperation and the means to control migratory flows from France, in the wake of the Treaty of Sandhurst signed in 2018 and a new agreement concluded in November, according to the two countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during COP27 in Egypt, November 7, 2022 © Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP/Archives

In the entourage of the British conservative leader, it is considered "crucial" to work "with the French to prevent crossings and the loss of human life in the Channel", while more than 45,000 migrants illegally reached the English coast in 2022 on makeshift boats, a record despite the proliferation of plans to combat this phenomenon.

Downing Street therefore hopes to "continue to strengthen patrols" to "crack down on" gangs of smugglers "and stop more boats".

This subject will be discussed 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 to the first two European armies, the only two equipped with nuclear weapons in Europe, pushed to come together.

A context which makes it possible to "give new impetus" to cooperation on defense, said an adviser to the French president about this partnership engraved in stone by the Treaty of Lancaster House in 2010 but muted since Brexit.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during COP27 in Egypt on November 7, 2022 © Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

According to London, the two leaders will announce "increased coordination of the supply of arms to Ukraine and the training" of Ukrainian soldiers, so that "thousands more" of them are ready for combat.

A "strategic partnership" must also be concluded on nuclear energy, and cross-investments announced by companies from the two countries, all with the common thread of decarbonizing the economy to fight against global warming.

© 2023 AFP