Macron says UK and France have duty to tackle illegal migration ‘with humanity, solidarity and firmness’
Macron says the UK and France also work together on the climate.
And the two countries will cooperate to tackle illegal migration, he says.
We cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted in criminal networks, to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life.
France and the United Kingdom have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and firmness.
The decisions that we will take at our bilateral summit will respond to our aims for cooperation and tangible results on these major issues.
Very clearly, we task our minister of domestic affairs [Home Office ministers, in UK terms] to work very closely together, and I want to salute the very close coordination and cooperation.
But Macron also says there will only be “a lasting and effective solution” with action at the European level.
Key events
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Macron says UK and France have duty to tackle illegal migration ‘with humanity, solidarity and firmness’
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Macron calls for ceasefire in Gaza, saying ‘dehumunisation’ happening there cannot be justified
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Macron says Europeans will never abandon Ukraine
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Macron says democracies now under attack ‘on daily basis’
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British Museum director says Bayeux Tapestry loan is ‘exactly kind of international partnership’ museum should champion
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Bayeux Tapestry to go on display in UK for 11 months from next autumn, Starmer and Macron announce
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President Macron to address parliament
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Lammy tells MPs UK will take further measures against Israel if ceasefire does not happen soon
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Labour says James McMurdock affair shows Reform UK can’t be trusted to uphold ‘high standards in public life’
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Thomas says he is sympathetic to inquiry’s call for permanent compensation body to be set up for scandals like this
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Relatives of Post Office scandal victims to get compensation if they suffered, as inquiry recommends, MPs told
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Post Office minister Gareth Thomas says government ‘very sympathetic’ to inquiry’s recommendations
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Sats results for schools rise, but still have not reached pre-Covid levels, DfE figures show
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Rishi Sunak takes job with Goldman Sachs
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James McMurdock says he no longer intends to return to Reform UK after inquiry into Covid loans concludes
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Resident doctors in England vote to strike over pay
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Government announces 50 road and rail upgrades, including train link between Bristol and Portishead
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Williams says compensation should also be available to family members affected by Post Office scandal
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Williams says having four compensation schemes was mistake, and problems will persist even if recommendations adopted
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Williams questions fairness of some of compensation payments paid under Horizon Shortfall scheme
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Williams says he wants government to say if it is accepting his recommendations within three months
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Williams says evidence of human impact of Post Office scandal ‘profoundly disturbing’
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Wyn Williams explains why Post Office inquiry human impact and compensation report being published first
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Around 1,000 people convicted on basis of Post Office Horizon evidence, and for some life became ‘close to unbearable’, report says
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Contemplating suicide was ‘common experience’ for victims of Post Office IT scandal, report says
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At least 10,000 people affected by Post Office IT scandal, inquiry report says
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Post Office scandal may have led to more than 13 suicides, inquiry finds
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Badenoch backs Tebbit over his ‘cricket test’, saying he, like her, wanted migrants to come to UK ‘because they love it’
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Risks from climate, pensions and bonds leave UK public finances ‘vulnerable’, OBR says
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UK government backs French police immobilising small boats, minister says
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Tebbit was ‘hero of modern Conservatism’, says Boris Johnson
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Eluned Morgan says Welsh Labour taking Reform UK ‘very seriously’ after 2nd poll says it could win Senedd elections
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Post Office Horizon IT inquiry to publish first volume of its final report
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Tebbit in his own words
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Badenoch leads tributes to Norman Tebbit, ‘icon’ of Thatcherism, praising his ‘stoicism and courage’
Macron says European countries must end their “excessive dependencies on both the US and China”.
He suggests China’s use of subsidies are a threat to fair trade.
And he says that President Trump’s trade war is also an attack on WTO rules.
He says the European democratic model is as under threat from “foreign interference, information manipulation, domination of minds by negative emotions and addictions to social media”.
Macron says he is the first EU head of state to make a state visit since Brexit.
And he praises Starmer for restoring trust in that relationship.
Macron says UK and France have duty to tackle illegal migration ‘with humanity, solidarity and firmness’
Macron says the UK and France also work together on the climate.
And the two countries will cooperate to tackle illegal migration, he says.
We cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted in criminal networks, to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life.
France and the United Kingdom have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and firmness.
The decisions that we will take at our bilateral summit will respond to our aims for cooperation and tangible results on these major issues.
Very clearly, we task our minister of domestic affairs [Home Office ministers, in UK terms] to work very closely together, and I want to salute the very close coordination and cooperation.
But Macron also says there will only be “a lasting and effective solution” with action at the European level.
Macron says the UK-France pact on defence and security is getting stronger.
And he says he and Keir Starmer will take this further at their summit this week.
There is an expectation in Europe that the two countries have “a special responsibility for the security of the continent”, he says.
Macron says the UK and France cannot tolerate the threat that would be posed by Iran having a nuclear weapon. They will work for a deal “which ensures international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear programme over the long term, thereby preserving the international non-proliferation framework as a foundation for collective security”.
Macron calls for ceasefire in Gaza, saying ‘dehumunisation’ happening there cannot be justified
Macron says the UK and France are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
It is a matter of absolute urgency to end the suffering of the hostages and of the Gazans.
A war without end and without a strategic objective poses a huge threat to the region and our collective security.
Today, a dehumanisation is occurring there that can never be justified together.
We are aware that the political way out is crucial, and I believe in the future of the two-state solution as a basis for regional security architecture, which will enable Israel to live in peace and security alongside its neighbours.
But I want to be clear: calling today for a ceasefire in Gaza without any conditions is just telling to the rest of the world that for us, as Europeans, there is no double standard.
Macron says Europeans will never abandon Ukraine
Macron says, as permanent members of the UN security council, the UK and France are “deeply committed to multilateralism, the United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference”.
He says the two countries have to defend multilaterism and protect the international order.
Turning to Ukraine, he says:
Together we worked very hard during the past few years in order to stand with the Ukrainian people, just helping them to resist.
We were right, and we are right, and because every time Vladimir Putin’s Russia advances in Ukraine, the threat moves closer to us all.
We will never accept the theory that might is right. And I want to be clear, this is why, together with you, Mr Prime Minister, we decided to launch last February this coalition. And this coalition was just a signal that Europeans will never abandon Ukraine, never.
And whatever the decisions could be elsewhere, we will fight till the very last minute in order to get the ceasefire, in order to start the negotiations to build this robust and sustainable peace, because this is our security and our principles together which are at stake in Ukraine.
Macron says democracies now under attack ‘on daily basis’
Macron says the French will never forgot the sacrifice the British people made during the war.
Churchill was a visionary, who believed in “a strong transatlantic alliance” and “a peaceful European order”. He goes on:
[Churchill] passed the same vision onto us of a world order based on law, justice and respect for territorial integrity – an order that is today being attacked on a daily basis as we witness direct attacks on our democracies, the return of war to our continent, the resurgence of imperial impulses and the flouting of international rules by destabilising powers while attempting to divide up the world to their advantage.
Macron pays tribute to Starmer, saying he was the first British prime minister to attend an Armistice Day celeberation in Paris in 80 years. Thank you, he says.
President Macron is speaking in French, and he starts by thanking his hosts. It is a very great honour to speak before both Houses of Parliament, he says.
He says parliament is a place where “modern democracy emerged”.
In France Rousseau was inspired by Locke, he says.
(We are a long way now from rugby league.)
He goes on:
Please do not misunderstand me. I’m not going so far as to say that England gave birth to the French Revolution.
However, I have to confess that we love monarchy, but especially when it’s not our own.
Hoyle is now winding up.
Macron takes to the podium.
Hoyle talks about Britain and France fighting together in the second world war.
And he recalls President Zelenskyy visiting parliament. France and the UK are both part of the “Coalition of the Willing” to support Ukraine.
Hoyle says the first ever foreign dignitary to address parliament was a French president.
And 100 years ago France and Britain were both founding members of the parliamentary union, he says.
Hoyle is now talking about sporting links between the two countries. He says he wants to praise in particular the French rugby league (rugby league is a passion of his, he says).
(Quite what Macron makes about this tribute to the Catalan Dragons is not clear. Hoyle is now going on about how they once beat his team, Warrington.)
Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, is introducing the president.
He points out that the French language is embedded in the way parliament works. Parliament itself comes from a French word, (parler), he works with a dossier every day, and when laws are passed, that is announced in Norman French.
President Macron is entering the Royal Gallery. MPs and peers are applauding.
President Macron is running late, so here is a chance to have a look at the Bayeux Tapestry.
Here is more from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the Bayeux Tapestry loan.
The loan will form part of a bilateral season of culture in 2027 that will celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conquerer and the Grand Départ of the 2027 Tour de France from the UK.
Lord Peter Ricketts has been appointed by the government to act as the UK Government’s Envoy for the Bayeux Tapestry Loan. Further details on the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry, the loan of the Sutton Hoo Treasure will be made in due course.
In addition, three UK cultural organisations will also be signing Memoranda of Understanding with French counterparts: the British Film Institute and the Centre National du Cinema; the National Trust and the Centre des Monuments Nationaux; and Sadler’s Wells and the Chaillot Théâtre National de la Danse. These partnerships between some of our flagship cultural organisations will ensure that creative partnerships and projects can continue to thrive between our two nations for years to come.
