Starmer shouldn't hold out hope for help from Macron

The loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum is meant to symbolise the “close and deepening” relationship between the UK and France.

- DAVID MADDOX

Thy french president spoke of deepening ties with the UK but made no mention of small boats But it is also an uncomfortable reminder that small boats crossing the Channel is not a new problem, and it can end up leaving one in the eye for the leader in England.

Prime ministers coming from France have their own agenda, even if the entente is a great deal more cordial now than in the days of William the Conqueror.

The impressive speech by Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, given in his second language and lasting more than half an hour, for a joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament, was full of warm words and a desire, in particular, to unpick Brexit.

“Let’s not make the Channel any wider,” he said, urging a lack of economic deviation, encouraging a version of a youth mobility scheme and offering a vision of Britain and France shouldering the defence of the European continent.