Emmanuel Macron and Rishi Sunak will meet for the first time at COP27

They have already exchanged a phone call, the time to discuss better cooperation against illegal Channel crossings. But Emmanuel Macron and the new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, have never seen each other face-to-face. The first time will be for Monday, on the occasion of COP27, where the two leaders will be able to deepen the discussion on a theme that seems to have formed the heart of relations between Paris and London for some time.

During their telephone conversation, the head of the British government had “stressed the importance for the two countries of making the Channel route completely impassable for human traffickers”, said his services. In a column published Sunday in the newspaper Mail on SundayBritish Home Secretary Suella Braverman says she is working with her French counterpart Gérald Darmanin “to build stronger cooperation and make better use of British surveillance technologies”.

Rishi Sunak more conciliatory?

The same newspaper reports that the United Kingdom hopes to sign an agreement on this explosive subject “in the coming weeks”. Nearly 40,000 people have already successfully crossed the Channel on small boats since the start of the year, already far more than the 2021 record.

After a period of tension between London and Paris, the government of Rishi Sunak, who became Prime Minister against the backdrop of a serious political crisis after the resignations, one after the other, of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, seems to be adopting a more conciliatory tone towards from France.

The head of the British government thus underlined during his telephone conversation with Emmanuel Macron “the importance of the relationship between the United Kingdom and France, neighbor and ally” and said he was “looking forward to” a bilateral summit next year. , according to his spokesperson. For his part, the French president mentioned his “availability” to “deepen the bilateral relationship” in “the fields of defence, strategic affairs and energy”, reported the Elysée, without mentioning the subject. thorny migrants.