French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet Friday in Paris for a summit aimed at mending relations following post-Brexit tensions, as well as improving military and business ties and toughening efforts against Channel migrant crossings.
The French-British summit, the first since 2018, is set to show a new chapter is opening in relations between the two countries, according to Macron's office. Such an event was previously held almost every year.
Relations between the UK and France chilled amid post-Brexit wrangling over fishing rights and other issues, and hit rock-bottom under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who took delight in needling the French. His successor, Liz Truss, ruffled French feathers last year when she said the jury is out on whether Macron was a friend or a foe.
But Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought Britain and its European neighbours closer together in support of Kyiv, and the mood improved after pragmatic, technocratic Sunak took office in October after Truss' brief and economically destabilizing term.
Sunak's visit also comes two weeks before King Charles III travels to France and then Germany for his first state visits since becoming monarch, in further British efforts to build bridges with European neighbours.
“The summit will be above all an opportunity to reaffirm and deepen the close cooperation in terms of military support for Ukraine," according to the statement from Macron's Elysee Palace, as both countries are the only nuclear powers in the region.
A delegation of seven senior ministers from each country will take part, including those responsible for foreign affairs, defence and domestic issues.
Last month the UK and the EU announced a breakthrough in talks to resolve the dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. Britain also has cautiously welcomed Macron's proposal for a European Political Community, a new forum aimed at boosting security and prosperity across the continent. Launched in October, it brings together existing EU members, aspiring partners in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, as well as Britain and Turkey.
Sunak seeks closer cooperation on measures to stop thousands of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England.
The UK and France signed an agreement in November to increase police patrols on beaches in northern France - with London agreeing to pay Paris 72.2 million euros in 2022-2023 - and Sunak hopes to cement further cooperation on Friday.
“Friday's talks will aim at making the small boat route across the Channel unviable, save lives and dismantle organised crime groups while preventing illegal migration further upstream," according to Sunak's office.
The UK announced contentious plans this week to detain and deport people arriving by small boat, but almost no country has agreed to accept any deportees. Soon after the meeting in Paris, however, will come a reminder of an issue that angered France.
Sunak will fly to the United States for a meeting with President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over a three-way defence deal struck in 2021 that saw Australia back out of an agreement to buy French submarines.
