Emmanuel Macron is expected for a three-day state visit in the UK starting Tuesday, when he will address parliament. The French president will also co-chair a summit with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European leaders to discuss boosting Ukraine's defences.
Macron is the first French president to make a state visit to the UK since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 and will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand.
"The president and Mrs Macron will visit the Palace of Westminster, where the president will address parliamentarians" on Tuesday, the Buckingham Palace office of King Charles III said last week.
The king invited the French leader and his wife Brigitte for the three-day visit, which starts on Tuesday (8 July).
Charles will host them for a state banquet at his Windsor Castle residence, west of London, where the couple will also stay. While in Windsor, Macron will privately visit St George's Chapel to lay flowers on the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince William and his wife Catherine will greet the presidential couple on their arrival in the UK and accompany them on their journey to Windsor.
The trip follows Charles's state visit to France in September 2023 which was widely regarded as a success that helped boost relations.
King Charles heads to France for three-day state visit
The two countries have yet to agree a strategy to halt migrants making perilous small boat crossings of the Channel, a key political issue in the UK.
As more small boats land on English shores, and the UK government is under mounting pressure from the far right to tackle irregular migration, London has pressed Paris to do more.
In recent weeks, France said it is considering stopping migrant boats in its shallow coastal waters, though the move raises safety and legal issues.
On Friday, the British government said it welcomed footage showing French police stopping a small boat carrying migrants from setting off across the Channel.
Migration will feature high on the agenda of the 37th Franco-British summit, which will take place on Thursday (10 July).
Boosting Ukraine's defences
On that day, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also co-chair talks with other European leaders on boosting Ukraine's defences.
"There will certainly be a discussion on how to seriously maintain Ukraine's combat capability," the Elysee Palace said last week, adding that the meeting will take place by video link.
The meeting on 10 July comes as US-led peace talks on ending the more than three-year-old war against Ukraine have stalled.
The US, Ukraine's biggest military backer since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, said last week it was halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Europe must 'step up' as US halts some arms to Ukraine, EU chief says
During the Ukraine meeting, Macron and Starmer will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the French presidency said.
The summit will touch upon the deployment of "a reassurance force" to Ukraine after a ceasefire. The discussions will also focus on "how to increase pressure on Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire that it has consistently refused."
(with AFP)
