The Royal Family have met President Macron and his wife Brigitte at RAF Northolt as part of a state visit that is seen by many as an effort to mend UK-EU relations.
As part of today’s precedings, the King is set to make a speech in which he will detail the importance of the two countries working in unison to combat “complex threats” and will reference their “shared history and culture”.
On Thursday, the French president will meet with the Prime Minister at the UK-France Summit, and there will be plenty of issues that Macron will want to discuss.
Why is Macron visiting?
The two leaders will look to work together to ensure mutually beneficial progress for their respective countries.
These issues will range from negotiating the Ukrainian peace deal to discussing the One in One out policy and how that will work to resolve the small boat crisis.
Data from the Home Office shows a total of 19,982 people have arrived in the UK since the start of 2025.
Much like the Prime Minister Macron is very keen to focus in on the small boats crisis as he is in the process of intensifying the action being taken to address it. French police have recently been seen using knives to slash inflatable boats in shallow water.
However it still remains unclear whether an agreement on the ‘One in one One out’ system will go ahead.
As part of the proposed migration arrangement, someone being deported from the UK will be swapped with someone leaving France with the right to be in Britain.
Macron, will be looking for financial and operational support from Britain as the crisis persists.
Both leaders will also look to cover the issue of Ukraine and will look to lobby Trump in order to ensure post ceasefire security for the country. There will be further talk of the ‘coalition of the willing’ with a summit taking place this thursday which include Zelensky joining on a video link.
As key Nato members they will attempt to ensure cooperation is instilled to keep the threat of further aggresion from Russia at bay.
The French president hit the headlines earlier this year when he was pushed in the face by his wife Bridgit. Addressing the incident he dismissed claims of domestic abuse and branded the whole incident as “nothing”. With a lot at stake in this visit he will be hoping that this particular trip goes without any mishaps.
Ultimately it seems that this visit is a tactical move from both parties. It allows Starmer to attempt to mend our immigration situation which he recently admitted to being disastrous but it provides Macron with an ally in his mission to solve the small boats crisis. However, as talks continue take place, the question remains; who needs who more?
