By Andrew MacAskill
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s King Charles will welcome French President Emmanuel Macron to Windsor Castle on Tuesday for the first state visit by a European leader since Brexit in a trip aimed at celebrating the return of closer political ties between the countries.
The grand ceremonial event will be the first for Macron, who enjoys a good personal relationship with the king. The last state visit to Britain by a French president was in 2008, when Nicolas Sarkozy was a guest of the late Queen Elizabeth.
Britain has been trying to reset ties with European allies since Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected last year. The talks this week will focus on a range of issues, including how to stop people-smuggling and improving economic and defence ties at a time when the United States is retrenching from its traditional role as a defender of European security.
Although there have been tensions over the shape of post-Brexit ties and how to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats, Britain and France have been working closely together to create a planned military force to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
Sebastien Maillard, an associate fellow at London’s Chatham House think tank, said the two sides were seeking to repair some of the damage done by the Brexit negotiations in the run up to Britain leaving the EU in 2020, “when France was more or less playing the bad cop”.
While Macron’s three-day visit is filled with meetings about economic issues and foreign affairs, the first day of the visit is largely focused on pageantry, and heavy in symbolism.
Prince William and his wife Kate will greet Macron and his wife Brigitte at a military airport in London and will accompany them to Windsor where they will be officially welcomed by the king and Queen Camilla, and gun salutes.
They will then travel in a carriage procession through Windsor’s streets, attend a military parade and then have lunch with the royal family at the castle.
On Tuesday afternoon, Macron will travel back to London to speak to lawmakers in the parliament. The day will end with a state dinner at Windsor Castle, including speeches by the king and Macron in front of about 150 guests.
MIGRANTS’ RETURN DEAL
The following day Starmer will host Macron at Downing Street where they will discuss how to stop the flow of tens of thousands of asylum seekers across the Channel.
British officials are hoping that Macron will agree to a pilot of an asylum seekers’ returns deal. This would involve Britain deporting one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case to be in Britain, thereby disrupting the business model of people-smuggling gangs.
A record number of asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats from France in the first six months of this year. Starmer, trailing behind Nigel Farage’s insurgent, right-wing Reform UK party in the polls, is under pressure to come up with a solution.
France has previously refused to sign up to such an agreement, saying Britain should negotiate an arrangement with all the EU countries.
On Thursday, Starmer and Macron will host a UK-France summit to discuss other bilateral issues and how to support Ukraine. The two could also announce further cooperation on nuclear investment, such as at Sizewell C.
Macron’s visit is a sign of a new era in relations.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in his memoirs published last year that Macron wanted to punish Britain after it voted to leave the EU in 2016.
Britain and France in recent years have publicly clashed over fishing rights and a submarine alliance that united Britain, Australia and the United States, but left France on the sidelines.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill;Editing by Alison Williams)
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