A king's welcome for Macron as Starmer urges France to stop the boats
Starmer is aiming for a 'one in, one out' agreement that means France will accept the return of asylum seekers who cross the channel, as long as the UK accepts some asylum seekers who have family in the UK.
UK government figures show that about 20,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year to try to settle in Britain – up 48 per cent on the same period last year – fuelling an angry political debate about how to stop the boats.
In a dramatic escalation last week, French police used knives to slash an inflatable boat with more than a dozen asylum seekers in shallow water on a beach south of Calais, forcing the passengers back to the sand.
While French authorities said there was no change in their policy, the UK government wants the French police to intervene more forcefully.
Behind the scenes, Macron is said to be asking Starmer to toughen welfare rules, family reunification and other measures in the UK to make the country less attractive to asylum seekers.
The Telegraph newspaper cited government figures in Paris who said Macron also wanted Starmer to crack down on illegal work, a key factor when asylum seekers are not allowed to work but nonetheless seek 'black market' jobs such as food delivery drivers.
In a remark about Brexit that triggered blowback, Macron told parliament the UK decision to leave the European Union was 'deeply regrettable' but their trade would grow despite this.
Former Conservative home secretary Suella Braverman said the 'sooner Macron leaves the UK the better' because he had criticised the British people and their 'cry for freedom' with Brexit.
Regardless of those complaints, Starmer and Macron have worked over months to convey a stronger sense of public alliance between the UK and France, in a contrast with the friction across the Atlantic with US President Donald Trump.
While Trump has sent shifting signals about his support for Ukraine, Starmer and Macron have promised more military aid and will hold a meeting on Thursday that is expected to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a wide-ranging address, Macron said Europe will 'never abandon Ukraine' and repeated his calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, but his major theme was that France and the UK would work more closely together despite the differences over Brexit.
'Let's be sure we will meet again for years and decades because we are linked by our geography, by our past, but we are linked by our common future,' Macon said in his address.
'And the only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges of our times, would be to go together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.
'This is our common destiny. Long live the United Kingdom, long live France.'
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Sydney Morning Herald
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The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
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The Advertiser
4 hours ago
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The attack, which follows a series of escalating air assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, showed the need for "biting" sanctions on the sources of income Russia uses to finance the war, including on those who buy Russian oil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram. Ukraine's military downed almost all the drones but some of the six hypersonic missiles launched by Russia had caused unspecified damage, air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on Ukrainian television. Meanwhile, Pope Leo has told visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the Vatican is willing to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The Pope, meeting the Ukrainian leader for the second time in his two-month-old papacy, also discussed "the urgent need for a just and lasting peace," the Vatican said in a statement. Zelenskiy and Leo held talks in Castel Gandolfo, a small Italian hill town not far from Rome, where the Pope is having a two-week holiday. 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Leo, who has made appealing for peace in world conflicts a major theme of his young papacy, previously met Zelenskiy at the Vatican on May 18. The Pope also held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4, during which the Vatican said Leo had asked Putin to take concrete steps to end Russia's three-year war on Ukraine. US President Donald Trump suggested in May that Leo had offered to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks although the pontiff did not discuss it publicly at the time. The United States is delivering artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery missiles to Ukraine, days after President Donald Trump's administration had halted shipments of some critical weapons to Kyiv. The pause in some weapon shipments last week appears to have been tied to concerns that US military stockpiles might be too low, two officials said on Wednesday. Since then, Trump said he did not know who ordered the pause and that he would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help the war-torn country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 155mm artillery shells and GMLRS (mobile rocket artillery) missiles were now being provided to Ukraine. The officials did not say how many weapons were being sent and whether the shipment was complete. It was also unclear whether the new shipment represented any change in policy by the administration. Russia targeted Ukraine with a record 728 drones overnight. The attack, which follows a series of escalating air assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, showed the need for "biting" sanctions on the sources of income Russia uses to finance the war, including on those who buy Russian oil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram. Ukraine's military downed almost all the drones but some of the six hypersonic missiles launched by Russia had caused unspecified damage, air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on Ukrainian television. Meanwhile, Pope Leo has told visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the Vatican is willing to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The Pope, meeting the Ukrainian leader for the second time in his two-month-old papacy, also discussed "the urgent need for a just and lasting peace," the Vatican said in a statement. Zelenskiy and Leo held talks in Castel Gandolfo, a small Italian hill town not far from Rome, where the Pope is having a two-week holiday. Zelenskiy said on X that holding talks with Russia in the Vatican would be "entirely possible, with the goal of stopping Russian aggression and achieving a stable, lasting, and genuine peace". But he said Russia had rejected such proposals, "as it has turned down all other peace initiatives". Russian officials have told Reuters in the past that they did not see the Vatican as a serious venue for talks because it is surrounded by NATO military alliance member Italy which has supported Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader is in Italy to attend a conference on July 10-11 dedicated to Ukraine's recovery and long-term reconstruction following Russia's invasion. The Vatican did not say how long the meeting between Leo and Zelenskiy lasted. It released video showing Leo, the first US-born pontiff, asking Zelenskiy "How are things going?" in English as they sat in a large room together. Leo, who has made appealing for peace in world conflicts a major theme of his young papacy, previously met Zelenskiy at the Vatican on May 18. The Pope also held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4, during which the Vatican said Leo had asked Putin to take concrete steps to end Russia's three-year war on Ukraine. US President Donald Trump suggested in May that Leo had offered to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks although the pontiff did not discuss it publicly at the time. The United States is delivering artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery missiles to Ukraine, days after President Donald Trump's administration had halted shipments of some critical weapons to Kyiv. The pause in some weapon shipments last week appears to have been tied to concerns that US military stockpiles might be too low, two officials said on Wednesday. Since then, Trump said he did not know who ordered the pause and that he would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help the war-torn country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 155mm artillery shells and GMLRS (mobile rocket artillery) missiles were now being provided to Ukraine. The officials did not say how many weapons were being sent and whether the shipment was complete. It was also unclear whether the new shipment represented any change in policy by the administration. Russia targeted Ukraine with a record 728 drones overnight. The attack, which follows a series of escalating air assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, showed the need for "biting" sanctions on the sources of income Russia uses to finance the war, including on those who buy Russian oil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram. Ukraine's military downed almost all the drones but some of the six hypersonic missiles launched by Russia had caused unspecified damage, air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on Ukrainian television. Meanwhile, Pope Leo has told visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the Vatican is willing to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The Pope, meeting the Ukrainian leader for the second time in his two-month-old papacy, also discussed "the urgent need for a just and lasting peace," the Vatican said in a statement. Zelenskiy and Leo held talks in Castel Gandolfo, a small Italian hill town not far from Rome, where the Pope is having a two-week holiday. Zelenskiy said on X that holding talks with Russia in the Vatican would be "entirely possible, with the goal of stopping Russian aggression and achieving a stable, lasting, and genuine peace". But he said Russia had rejected such proposals, "as it has turned down all other peace initiatives". Russian officials have told Reuters in the past that they did not see the Vatican as a serious venue for talks because it is surrounded by NATO military alliance member Italy which has supported Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader is in Italy to attend a conference on July 10-11 dedicated to Ukraine's recovery and long-term reconstruction following Russia's invasion. The Vatican did not say how long the meeting between Leo and Zelenskiy lasted. It released video showing Leo, the first US-born pontiff, asking Zelenskiy "How are things going?" in English as they sat in a large room together. Leo, who has made appealing for peace in world conflicts a major theme of his young papacy, previously met Zelenskiy at the Vatican on May 18. The Pope also held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4, during which the Vatican said Leo had asked Putin to take concrete steps to end Russia's three-year war on Ukraine. US President Donald Trump suggested in May that Leo had offered to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks although the pontiff did not discuss it publicly at the time.
