Emmanuel Macron with Liz Truss during her brief premiership
(Picture: PA Wire)French president Emmanuel Macron reacted with shock to the sudden resignation of Liz Truss as UK Prime Minister, saying he had been “building a working relationship” with her.
Mr Macron said: “On a personal level, I’m always sad to see a colleague go.
“I’ve had the opportunity on many occasions to meet Liz Truss and we’ve been exchanging only this week.”
Arriving at an EU summit in Brussels, Mr Macron added: “We were building a working relationship, and I wish in any case that Great Britain will find stability again and moves on, as soon as possible. It’s good for us, and it’s good for our Europe.”
In August, Mr Macron reacted with anger to claims by then prime ministerial hopeful Ms Truss saying the ‘jury is out’ on whether he is a ‘friend or foe’.
In a concerted dig Mr Macron said: “The United Kingdom is a friendly nation, regardless of its leaders, and sometimes in spite of its leaders.”
Asked further about Ms Truss’s perceived insult Mr Macron said: “It’s never a good idea to lose your bearings in life.
“If I’d been asked the question myself [as to whether I’m a friend or foe of Liz Truss], this is how I’d answer it – whoever becomes the next leader of Great Britain, I won’t ask myself any questions about them personally.
“Great Britain is a friend of France, and you know we live in a complicated world.
“We have more and more liberal governments, autocratic democracies and other powers that create imbalance, and if we’re not able to say whether the French and British people are friends or foes - and the word foes is not a neutral one - then we’re heading towards serious problems.
“So yes, I say it with certainty, the British people, the British nation is our friend. The United Kingdom, strong and allied, regardless of its leaders, and sometimes in spite of and beyond its leaders, or regardless of the small mistakes they can make in their speeches.”
