With the initial pageantry behind him, French President Emmanuel Macron got down to business in an address to the British Parliament.
As expected, Macron told MPs that the UK and France have a duty to “firmly” tackle illegal migration. While a specific deal could not be secured prior to his state visit, he criticised gangs and people who “flout” immigration rules. Countries of departure and transit also need to consider their priorities.
In the speech, Macron’s woolly commitment to global affairs means standing by Ukraine—again, without going into specifics—and recognising a Palestinian state—something which Israel and Germany view as rewarding murderous Hamas aggression.
Skipping past Brexit, which Macron finds regrettable, he welcomed present-day trade patterns (which have “surpassed pre-Brexit levels”) and continued to push for a ‘youth mobility scheme.’
This project, potentially open to under-30s from the European Union, has been criticised as the Brexit-busting return of free movement through the back door.
“Exchanges for students, researchers, artists” sounds too similar to what supporters of open borders claim are the thousands of “doctors, dentists, engineers” already turning up on English beaches from France.
