A king’s welcome for Macron as Starmer urges France to stop the boats

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London: French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to deliver “tangible results” with Britain to stem the flow of asylum seekers who cross the English Channel, as he dined with royalty at Windsor Castle during a state visit to the UK.

Macron addressed the growing anxiety in Britain over migration during a day of high ceremony that included horse-drawn carriages, a military parade and an address to parliament.

King Charles hosted the state dinner at Windsor Castle with numerous family members, including the Princess of Wales attending her first state banquet since 2023.

The visit drew crowds to see the royal family, with significant media attention on Kate after her absence from public duties to focus on her cancer treatment and recovery, but it also highlighted stronger ties between the two countries on defence, migration and trade.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is aiming to produce a migration deal with Macron during the three-day visit to embrace a “one in, one out” rule to try to stop asylum seekers crossing from France by boat.

Macron promised results without being specific about the nature of the deal. He told the UK parliament that he also wanted a broader agreement at the European level – a key problem as people cross multiple countries to claim refugee status.

“In this unstable world, hope for a better life elsewhere is legitimate,” he told parliament.

“But we cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life.

“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness.”

Macron with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier on Tuesday in London.

Starmer is aiming for a “one in, one out” agreement that means France will accept the return of asylum seekers who cross the channel, as long as the UK accepts some asylum seekers who have family in the UK.

UK government figures show that about 20,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year to try to settle in Britain – up 48 per cent on the same period last year – fuelling an angry political debate about how to stop the boats.

In a dramatic escalation last week, French police used knives to slash an inflatable boat with more than a dozen asylum seekers in shallow water on a beach south of Calais, forcing the passengers back to the sand.

While French authorities said there was no change in their policy, the UK government wants the French police to intervene more forcefully.

Behind the scenes, Macron is said to be asking Starmer to toughen welfare rules, family reunification and other measures in the UK to make the country less attractive to asylum seekers.

Macron looks on as King Charles speaks during the banquet.

The Telegraph newspaper cited government figures in Paris who said Macron also wanted Starmer to crack down on illegal work, a key factor when asylum seekers are not allowed to work but seek “black market” jobs such as food delivery drivers.

The lavish state banquet was held at Windsor Castle.

In a remark about Brexit that triggered blowback, Macron told parliament the UK decision to leave the European Union was “deeply regrettable”, but their trade would grow despite this.

Former Conservative home secretary Suella Braverman said the “sooner Macron leaves the UK the better” because he had criticised the British people and their “cry for freedom” with Brexit.

Regardless of those complaints, Starmer and Macron have worked for months to convey a stronger sense of public alliance between the UK and France, in contrast with the friction across the Atlantic with US President Donald Trump.

While Trump has sent shifting signals about his support for Ukraine, Starmer and Macron have promised more military aid and will hold a meeting on Thursday which is expected to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a wide-ranging address, Macron said Europe will “never abandon Ukraine” and repeated his calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, but his major theme was that France and the UK would work more closely together despite their differences over Brexit.

“Let’s be sure we will meet again for years and decades, because we are linked by our geography, by our past, but we are linked by our common future,” Macon said in his address.

“And the only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges of our times, would be to go together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.

“This is our common destiny. Long live the United Kingdom, long live France.”