The brilliant Peter Ustinov found an ironic formulation not far from reality: “The French and the English are such good enemies that they cannot help but be friends.” Indeed, the close alliance between France and the United Kingdom, founding members of NATO, is not incompatible with tensions, misunderstandings and the occasional rudeness. The heavy digestion of Brexit generated strong turbulence between both banks of the English Channel in recent years.
The three-day state visit that begins this Wednesday between the King of England, Charles III, and Queen Camilla, is intended to strengthen the relationship after the difficult period of Britain's departure from the European Union, further complicated by histrionics and the unpredictability of Boris Johnson as prime minister.
The British sovereign's trip had to be postponed last March due to violent demonstrations following the approval by decree of the controversial pension reform in France. The displacement represented a security risk and a diplomatic nightmare. It was an embarrassing situation for Macron and for the high self-esteem of his fellow citizens. Charles III had chosen Paris as his first destination after having succeeded his mother. The king of England maintained, however, his planned visit to Berlin. Double setback for French pride.
The resignation in March was painful because the presence of Charles III in the Elysée would have been the festive corollary of the summit that the two governments had held, the first since 2018, in which important agreements on immigration control were signed. The Paris meeting showed the new, much more effective and pragmatic work atmosphere imposed with the arrival of Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street.
It was inevitable that Brexit, an already very complex and chaotically negotiated process, would cause problems between Paris and London. One of the most visible was the fishing conflict, with an endless tug-of-war over issues such as scallop fishing grounds or the historical rights of the French to fish in waters such as those surrounding the Anglo-Norman island of Jersey.
Another point of disagreement has been the traffic of small boats – the British call them small boats – between the French coasts and the United Kingdom. The irony of history is that, after Brexit, which was voted precisely to better control the flow of migrants, Britain still receives more.
An additional reason for bilateral acrimony was the strong French anger over the surprising announcement, in autumn 2021, of an alliance in the Pacific, the Aukus, between Australia, Great Britain and the United States, to stop Chinese expansionism. Paris, which has territories in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, felt marginalized. Another humiliation was that Australia terminated the contract to provide itself with French submarines and signed an alternative agreement with the Americans and British.
Little by little the Franco-British waters have been calming. Paris has “revenged” with tangible actions. Brexit has weakened London as a financial center, especially to the benefit of the French capital, which also robs it of investments.
It is logical that pageantry accompanies Carlos and Camila's visit. The United Kingdom is the democratic monarchy par excellence. And France is the most monarchical of the republics. Next year, April 8 will mark the 120th anniversary of the signing of the agreement called entente cordiale between the two countries, and June 6 will mark eighty years since the Allied landing on the Normandy beaches during World War II.
The stay of the British sovereigns will be marked by symbolic gestures. The last time Elizabeth II was in French territory was in 2014, on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of D-Day. She was already 88 years old.
Macron and his wife Brigitte will receive Charles and Camilla at the Arc de Triomphe, to pay tribute to the tomb of the unknown soldier. Then the procession, with a gala escort on horseback, will descend along the Champs-Élysées to the presidential palace. At night, state dinner, with between 150 and 180 guests, in the emblematic Gallery of Mirrors, in the Palace of Versailles, a very monarchical detail that angers critics of Macron. But the protocol could not forget that, in 1972, the same treatment was reserved for Isabel II.
Thursday's program is tight. Charles III will give a speech in the Senate, while Brigitte and Camilla will launch a Franco-British literary prize in the imposing Richelieu headquarters – the historic one – of the National Library of France. There will also be visits to the Notre Dame works, the National Museum of Natural History and the suburb of Saint-Denis, where there will be key facilities for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The king and queen of England will spend Friday in Bordeaux, a city that is home to a large British colony. There will be meetings with soldiers from both countries, a tribute to the firefighters who fought against forest fires in the region last year and a visit to some organic vineyards, one of the weaknesses of Carlos, a first-time environmentalist.
According to Elysée sources, Macron and Charles III are united by “ties of friendship and trust.” They have already seen each other on several occasions. They share points of view on issues such as climate and the defense of biodiversity, which they will talk about. The president and the king will also, of course, discuss international issues such as the situation in Africa and the war in Ukraine.
No logistical details have been provided for security reasons. The figure of 8,000 agents mobilized, in total, for the Paris and Bordeaux stages is being unofficially considered. There are no specific threats, but the French police prefer to minimize the risks.
According to the Elysée, French is likely to be the main language in the meetings between Charles III and Macron. “We know that the king is perfectly French-speaking,” recalled, not without satisfaction, a source from the presidential palace.
It was curious, although it was probably due to a pure coincidence, that, as an appetizer to the royal visit, Macron received yesterday at the Elysee the Labor leader and head of the British opposition, MP Keir Starmer. “Their meeting is part of the context of the dialogue that the President of the Republic maintains with political actors,” they recalled from the president's entourage. And, so that there were no suspicions, it was clarified that Macron met with Sunak on the sidelines of the recent G-20 summit in India.
