Emmanuel Macron addressing parliament following meeting with king – UK politics live

2 months ago 25

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.

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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:

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.

Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron in Westminster Abbey this afternoon.

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.

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