logo
Emmanuel Macron says immigration is a ‘burden' France and UK ‘must fix' in address to parliament

Emmanuel Macron says immigration is a ‘burden' France and UK ‘must fix' in address to parliament

Independent08-07-2025
Emmanuel Macron has said that both France and the UK must focus on fixing immigration, labelling it a 'burden for our two countries'.
Addressing parliament on his first day of his three-day state visit to the UK on Tuesday (8 July), the French president said that whilst 'hope for a better life is legitimate', both countries must not allow 'rules to be flouted'.
He said: 'France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity solidarity and firmness.
'Our objective is to have the best ever cooperation between our two countries in order to fix today what is a burden for us both,' he said, adding that an upcoming summit aims for "cooperation and tangible results".
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US government is building a 5,000-person immigrant detention camp in west Texas
US government is building a 5,000-person immigrant detention camp in west Texas

The Independent

time25 minutes ago

  • The Independent

US government is building a 5,000-person immigrant detention camp in west Texas

The U.S. government is building an immense 5,000-person detention camp in west Texas, government contract announcements said, sharply increasing the Trump administration's ability to hold detained immigrants amid its ever-growing mass deportation efforts. A Defense Department contract announcement on Monday said Acquisition Logistics, a Virginia-based firm, had been awarded $232 million in Army funds to build the facility, which would be used for single immigrant adults. Procurement documents called it a 'soft sided facility,' a phrase often used for tent camps. The announcement came just weeks after Florida authorities rushed to construct a new immigration detention center dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' which was built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland in the Florida Everglades. The announcement said the new facility would be built in El Paso, which is home to Ft. Bliss, an Army base that stretches across parts of Texas and New Mexico. President Donald Trump recently signed a law setting aside $170 billion on border and immigration enforcement, including $45 billion for detention, even as the number of illegal border crossings has plunged. ICE will see its funding grow by $76.5 billion over five years, nearly 10 times its current annual budget. Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S.

I can't spend all my time worrying about regicide
I can't spend all my time worrying about regicide

The Independent

time25 minutes ago

  • The Independent

I can't spend all my time worrying about regicide

Kemi Badenoch has said that she cannot 'spend all my time worrying about regicide' as she claimed she does not notice people 'trying to create harm'. The Conservative leader said that the public are 'not yet ready to forgive' the Tory party, more than a year on from the general election. Speaking to the Financial Times in the week she reshuffled her top team, Mrs Badenoch played down the idea of threats to her leadership. 'I can't spend all my time worrying about regicide, I would lose my mind,' she said. She added: 'I'm so thick-skinned to the point where I don't even notice if people are trying to create harm. 'That's extremely useful in this job.' The New Statesman reported that many Tory MPs who backed Mrs Badenoch in the leadership contest have privately turned on her, and believe her core team of advisers are 'lightweights and sycophants'. Faltering Conservatives may seek to trigger a vote of confidence in their leader in November, once a grace period protecting her from such a move ends, the magazine said. Asked about suggestions that Tory MPs were already plotting a coup, Mrs Badenoch told the PA news agency on Wednesday: 'I would say that if nobody put their name to it, then I'm not paying any attention to it.' Among the changes announced as part of Mrs Badenoch's reshuffle this week was the return of Sir James Cleverly to the front bench as shadow housing secretary. In his first full day in the job, Sir James accused the Prime Minister of being more interested in finding accommodation for asylum seekers than 'hardworking young people'. He said he was 'furious' when the Prime Minister 'blithely' said there are 'plenty of houses' around the UK for asylum seekers. Sir Keir Starmer insisted there was 'lots of housing available' to accommodate rising numbers of homeless people and asylum seekers when he was questioned by senior MPs earlier this week. Sir James told Times Radio: 'I was furious, I genuinely couldn't believe he said this, when the Prime Minister was at the Liaison Committee and blithely said, 'Oh, there are plenty of houses around the UK for asylum seekers'.' Sir James also said he understands the frustrations of local people when asked about demonstrations outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers. There has been a series of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, since an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault. His new role makes him the opposition counterpart to Angela Rayner in her housing, communities and local government brief, but not in her deputy prime minister post. Ms Rayner said on Tuesday that immigration was among issues having a 'profound impact on society' as she updated the Cabinet on her work on social cohesion. Mrs Badenoch made a series of further changes to the junior ranks of her shadow cabinet on Wednesday, completing her reshuffle. Among the appointments was the return of Stockton West MP Matt Vickers to the job of deputy chairman of the Tory party. Mr Vickers was in the job for two years from summer 2022, but resigned last August to back Robert Jenrick in the leadership election. He also retains his job as a shadow home office minister.

French president Macron sues right-wing podcaster over claim France's first lady was born male
French president Macron sues right-wing podcaster over claim France's first lady was born male

Reuters

time26 minutes ago

  • Reuters

French president Macron sues right-wing podcaster over claim France's first lady was born male

July 23 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. on Wednesday against right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, centered on her claim that France's first lady is male. The Macrons said in a complaint filed in Delaware Superior Court that Owens has waged a lie-filled "campaign of global humiliation" to promote her podcast and expand her "frenzied" fan base. These lies included that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, the actual name of her older brother, the Macrons said. "Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history — twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade," the complaint said. "The result," the complaint added, "is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale." In her podcast on Wednesday, Owens said, "This lawsuit is littered with factual inaccuracies," and part of an "obvious and desperate public relations strategy" to smear her character. Owens also said she did not know a lawsuit was coming, though lawyers for both sides had been communicating since January. A spokesperson for Owens called the lawsuit itself an effort to bully her, after Brigitte Macron rejected Owens' repeated requests for an interview. "This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist," the spokesperson said. In a joint statement released by their lawyers, the Macrons said they sued after Owens rejected three demands that she retract defamatory statements. "Ms. Owens's campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety," the Macrons said. "We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused." Wednesday's lawsuit is a rare case of a world leader suing for defamation. U.S. President Donald Trump has also turned to the courts, including in a $10 billion lawsuit accusing The Wall Street Journal of defaming him by claiming he created a lewd birthday greeting for disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The Journal said it would defend against that case and had full confidence in its reporting. In December, meanwhile, Trump reached a $15 million settlement with Walt Disney-owned ABC (DIS.N), opens new tab over an inaccurate claim that a jury found him liable for rape, rather than sexual assault, in a civil lawsuit. To prevail in U.S. defamation cases, public figures must show defendants engaged in "actual malice," a tough legal standard requiring proof the defendants knew what they published was false or had reckless disregard for its truth. Owens has more than 6.9 million followers on X and more than 4.5 million YouTube subscribers. The Macrons' lawsuit focuses on the eight-part podcast "Becoming Brigitte," which has more than 2.3 million views on YouTube, and X posts linked to it. According to the Macrons, the series spread "verifiably false and devastating lies," including that Brigitte Macron stole another person's identity and transitioned to female, and that the Macrons are blood relatives committing incest. The complaint discusses circumstances under which the Macrons met, when the now 47-year-old president was a high school student and Brigitte was a teacher. It said their relationship "remained within the bounds of the law." According to the complaint, baseless speculation about Brigitte Macron's gender began surfacing in 2021, and the topic has been discussed on popular podcasts hosted by Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, who have many conservative followers. In September, Brigitte won a lawsuit in a French court against two women, including a self-described medium, who contributed to spreading rumors about her gender. An appeals court overturned that decision this month, and Brigitte Macron has appealed to France's highest court. The case is Macron et al v Owens et al, Delaware Superior Court, No. N25C-07-194.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store