UK royals welcome Macron for state visit with migration and Ukraine high on the agenda

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00:00A royal welcome for French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron.

00:06They're beginning their three-day state visit to the UK,

00:09greeted by the prince and princess of Wales, William and Kate,

00:13before heading to Windsor Castle for a state banquet

00:16where the French couple is welcomed by King Charles and Queen Camilla.

00:20The monarch is expected to steer clear of politics,

00:24a task that's left for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's meeting with the French president.

00:28The visit is seen as a symbolic reset for the two countries that drifted apart after Brexit.

00:35Macron is the first EU leader to visit the UK since it left the bloc in 2020.

00:40Well, there's a need, I think, to catch up after the damage done to the bilateral relationship,

00:46after the Brexit negotiations, when France was more or less playing the bad cop in that sense.

00:52Beyond its symbolism, both Macron and Starmer hope for practical results.

00:57Migration is one of the more sensitive topics on the table.

01:01Starmer hopes to announce more robust cooperation between the two countries

01:05to curb illegal migrant crossings of the English Channel.

01:08In 2024, more than 36,000 arrivals on British shores have been recorded by the British government,

01:15a yearly increase of 25%.

01:17Macron and Starmer are also expected to focus on defence,

01:21in search of a response to the return of war to Europe with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

01:26And although discussions on energy and trade are also expected,

01:30most topics are covered at a European level,

01:33a space where the United Kingdom doesn't have a say.

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