LONDON (UK) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told French President Emmanuel Macron that talks on a post-Brexit deal cannot drag on into the autumn. The French leader was on a visit to London to mark the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s call for wartime resistance.
Macron’s first trip outside France since the pandemic highlighted the new rules of socially-distant diplomacy as the two leaders posed two metres apart for photos.
The main focus for Macron was to mark De Gaulle’s “Appel” of June 18, 1940, a radio address he made to the French nation from BBC headquarters in London, calling for resistance to the Nazi occupation of France during World War Two.
Macron and Johnson also held discussions, agreeing on the need for a global response to the coronavirus crisis, and condemning China’s new security laws in Hong Kong.
But with less than six months left for a Brexit transition arrangement to expire, slow-moving trade talks with the EU featured prominently.
“(Johnson) underlined that the UK does not believe it makes sense for there to be prolonged negotiations into the autumn,” his office said.
Macron told Johnson France still supports reaching an agreement.
The French President was welcomed by a guard of honour as he was greeted by heir to the British throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla at their Clarence House residence.
They then laid wreaths at a statue of De Gaulle, while Macron also placed tributes at memorials to Queen Elizabeth’s parents, George VI, who ruled the UK during the war, and his wife also called Elizabeth.
The queen spoke to Macron over the phone and Johnson later watched a flypast by British and French aerobatic teams with their red, white and blue vapour trails.
The French president bestowed the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest distinction, on London in recognition of the city providing a base for De Gaulle, while Britain has honoured four French Resistance fighters: Edgard Tupet-Thome, 100; Daniel Cordier, 99; Hubert Germain, 99, and Pierre Simonet, 98.
“That night, De Gaulle became the voice and the breath of Free France,” Macron said of the “Appel”.
“He raised the flame of the resistance higher than a beacon, so that its ray of hope, from the banks of the Thames, shine over the land of France. The man who would carry the destiny of a breathless country. From London. Thanks to London.”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field