Watch as Macron meets King Charles III in Windsor as state visit begins
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Emmanuel Macron and Wife Brigitte Have Another Awkward Airplane Moment Ahead of Royal Visit
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, appeared to have another awkward exchange when they were filmed arriving for an official state visit with the British royal family Footage showed the Macrons deplaning at RAF Northolt as the president offered a hand to his wife, which she seemed to ignore In May, Brigitte appeared to push her husband's face as they prepared to deboard a plane in Hanoi, VietnamFollowing their viral moment back in May, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, had another awkward airplane exchange on Tuesday, July 8, ahead of their official state visit with the British royal family. As the Macrons deplaned at RAF Northolt — where Prince William and Kate Middleton waited to welcome them — the French president, 47, reached up to extend his hand to his wife to help her down the stairs. Brigitte, however, chose to hold on to the rail until she reached the ground, seemingly snubbing her husband's gesture. Some interpreted the moment as a blatant brush-off; however, others pointed out that Brigitte, 72, could simply have been focused on keeping her balance on the airplane steps or preparing herself to greet the Prince and Princess of Wales. The couple were all smiles as they greeted William and Kate, both 43, with Emmanuel bestowing a royally unusual — but not protocol-breaking — kiss to Kate's hand. It was certainly a less scandalous moment than when the Macrons went viral in May after Brigitte appeared to push Emmanuel's face as they prepared to deboard a plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the start of a Southeast Asia tour. Later, an official at the Élysée Palace downplayed the incident, saying, "It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh," per Reuters. The Macrons appeared to be in good spirits for the rest of their first day in the U.K. Brigitte even shared a laugh with Queen Camilla as she and King Charles welcomed them for the first state visit made by France in 17 years. The two power couples posed together on the Royal Dais at Datchet Road near Windsor Castle, where the president and his wife will be staying during their visit. Later, the two couples took in an exhibition of art from the Royal Collection with a special connection to France in the castle's Green Drawing Room. The French state visit will last from July 8 through Thursday, July 10, with plenty of other official events planned, including a royal gala. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Macron previewed the event in a post to X, in both English and French, ahead of the trip. 'The United Kingdom is a strategic partner, an ally, a friend. Our bond is longstanding, forged by History and strengthened by trust,' he wrote. 'Together, we will address the major challenges of our time: security, defence, nuclear energy, space, innovation, artificial intelligence, migration, and culture. These are all areas in which we seek to act together and deepen our cooperation in a concrete, effective, and lasting way," Macron added. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Starmer and Macron to meet at No 10 amid push for French help on small boats
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron will hold talks at No 10 as the UK pushes for France to do more to stop migrant crossings. The French president arrived on Tuesday for the first state visit by an EU head of state since Brexit. It comes as the UK has been pressing for tougher action from the French authorities on the beaches along the Channel coast. The Prime Minister hopes to strike a 'one in, one out' deal to send small boat migrants back to the continent, in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in Europe who have a British link. Alongside Downing Street talks, Sir Keir and Mr Macron are also expected to attend a reception with UK and French businesses and an event at the British Museum on Wednesday. Their spouses, Brigitte Macron and Lady Victoria Starmer, will have tea and a tour of Downing Street together, followed by all four having lunch. While they are being hosted by the King at Windsor, the Macrons will lay flowers on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II and see Fabuleu de Maucour, a horse the French president gave Elizabeth in 2022 to mark her Platinum Jubilee. In a speech to MPs and peers on Tuesday, Mr Macron promised to deliver on measures to cut the number of migrants crossing the English Channel, describing the issue as a 'burden' to both countries. He said France and the UK have a 'shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness'. Decisions at a Franco-British summit on Thursday will respond to 'our aims for co-operation and tangible results on these major issues', Mr Macron added. Last week, the total number of people crossing the Channel in small boats this year passed 20,000. The total now stands at more than 21,000, a record for this point in the year. Sir Keir and the French president are also expected to co-host a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing', the peacekeeping mission proposed to be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Unclear' how Labour's pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers will address shortages
It is 'unclear' how the Government will deliver its key pledge to recruit 6,500 more teachers by the end of this parliament, MPs have warned. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Government 'lacks a coherent plan', suitable targets and sufficient evidence of what works to improve teacher recruitment and retention. The Department for Education (DfE) should look at changes to contractual and working conditions – such as flexible working, according to the report from the cross-party group of MPs. It added that the DfE should assess pay against other recruitment and retention initiatives to make a decision on whether it needs to do more to ensure teachers are paid the right amount. During the election campaign, Labour pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 new teachers over the course of its five-year parliamentary term. But the report said it is 'unclear' how meeting this pledge will ensure there are enough teachers in the right areas. The PAC said: 'It is worrying the Department does not have a clear baseline or milestones against which to measure progress and be held accountable over the coming years.' The DfE gave 'no clear explanation' of how the pledge was calculated or how it will fill gaps, with an estimated need of up to 12,400 more teachers in colleges alone by 2028/29, it added. The report said workload is cited as the top reason for teachers leaving their jobs, and pupil behaviour is 'an escalating challenge' which school staff face. The MPs have called on the DfE to collect data on the effectiveness of its behaviour hubs, and to roll them out further if they prove to be successful. The PAC report found that teacher vacancies and the challenges of retaining experienced teachers are 'greater for schools in deprived areas'. Around a third (34%) of teachers in the most disadvantaged schools had less than five years of experience, compared to 20% in the least disadvantaged schools, it highlighted. These schools also suffer teacher shortages in specialist subjects, such as in computing, and the report warned that disadvantaged students are 'at risk of being locked out of particular careers' due to a lack of trained teachers. Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, a member of the PAC, said: 'The shortfalls laid out in our report show how urgent it is that DfE lay out the detail behind its pledge for 6,500 more teachers. 'The Committee is calling for the Government to take a serious look at working conditions, flexible arrangements and increased pay for teachers. 'It is important to stress that this Committee's role is not to make recommendations on policy – our report makes clear that Government should be exploring conditions and pay as value for money measures alongside the other recruitment and retention initiatives it is carrying out.' In May, the Government announced a 4% pay increase for school teachers and school leaders in England from September. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said schools would receive an additional £615 million of funding this financial year to help with the costs, but schools would have to find around 1% of the pay awards themselves. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'We share the concerns about the lack of clarity over the government's pledge to deliver 6,500 new teachers. 'This does not seem anything like enough to address future need and we would urge ministers to address actual teacher shortages rather than fixate on a figure which is largely meaningless.' He added: 'The impact of national teacher shortages is often most damaging in schools and colleges serving disadvantaged communities where recruitment and retention can be particularly hard. 'This is exactly where we most need a ready supply of teachers and leaders and the fact this is difficult to secure is a major obstacle in narrowing attainment gaps. 'The rising number of teachers leaving the profession because of pupil behaviour is also a major cause of concern. 'We hear from school and college leaders on a regular basis over just how challenging this issue has become in recent years. 'Behaviour policies are robust but there must be wider action to provide schools and colleges with specialist support and investment to address the variety as well as the complexity of needs that children and young people are exhibiting.' Jack Worth, school workforce lead at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), said: 'It is critical that the Government takes action now and delivers a comprehensive plan to tackle the issues that are impacting recruitment and retention or it will miss its 6,500 teacher recruitment pledge. 'Schools are anxious to see the details of the Government's plan for supporting teacher supply.' A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'This Government is already delivering on our pledge to recruit and retain 6,500 more talented teachers with 2,300 more secondary and special schoolteachers in classrooms this year, as well as 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the profession – one of the lowest leave rates since 2010. 'Since day one, the Education Secretary has worked to reset the relationship with the education sector, announcing pay awards of almost 10% over two years and committed to tackle high workload and poor wellbeing including encouraging schools to offer more flexible working opportunities. 'We are committed to working with teachers as partners in the push for better, driving high and rising standards through our Plan for Change to enable every child to achieve and thrive.'
