French President Macron says Europe will never abandon Ukraine

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00:00How much have you been with us? The French President Emmanuel Macron received a warm and

00:04pomp-filled welcome from King Charles III. Macron's three-day state visit to Britain is the first by

00:11an EU head of state since Brexit. Accompanied by his wife Brigitte, Macron hailing an important

00:17moment for our two nations after landing and heading straight to Windsor, west of London,

00:22to meet the British monarch. President Macron then speaking a little earlier in the London

00:26Parliament in English. Every time Vladimir Putin's Russia advances in Ukraine, the threat moves

00:33closer to us all. We will never accept the theory that might is right. I want to be clear. This

00:40is why together with you, Mr. Prime Minister, we decided to launch last February this coalition

00:46of the willing you mentioned. And this coalition was just the signal that the Europeans will

00:54never abandon Ukraine. Never.

01:01We are aware that a political way out is crucial. And I believe in the future of the two-state

01:08solution as a basis for regional security architecture, which will enable Israel to live in peace and

01:15security alongside its neighbors. But I want to be clear. Calling today for a ceasefire in Gaza without

01:26any condition is just telling to the rest of the world that for us, as Europeans, there is no double

01:34standard. And as we are attached to human lives, as we are attached to territorial integrity, we want the ceasefire.

01:43Emmanuel Macron speaking earlier to the British Parliament. Let's bring in Benedict Pavio.

01:49Benedict, of course, our correspondent, observing all matters for us in London.

01:54Benedict, a very good evening to you. What kind of an impact did the French president have?

01:58Well, this was a very wide-ranging speech from the visit for the first time since Brexit of a European

02:09leader in a state visit. And to get to the privilege as part of that state visit, when there are only two

02:17per year, is considerable. And part of that is to address Parliament. And I think that, you know,

02:24the room was packed. The speech was highly anticipated. The French president delivered the whole speech in

02:31English. And I think it was very powerful because it was very wide-ranging. And he, the key themes were

02:39really about the collaboration together. I could say we are stronger together. And that's, you know, of

02:45course, we're 120 years into the Entente Cordiale, more than that, actually. And so, you know, whether it's

02:52about how to handle AI, whether it's about exchanging, having a mobility scheme between

02:59youth, whether it's about the challenges that are posed by, well, whether Iran, nuclear, whether it's

03:08Ukraine, where we heard very clearly the French president saying, we will never abandon you.

03:13He kept on talking also about things that the two countries had in common. And it's almost as if he

03:19was, I could summarise by saying, he's saying, well, look, if we don't work together, we, as we face the

03:26same challenges, surely we are, we know that we will be better and stronger together. We're already

03:31doing that. Let us be stronger together. And of course, he's placing that in a context where there are

03:38many challenges, security challenges, for the first time a war in Europe, in Ukraine. There are big

03:46problems, whether they are challenges, whether it's for our economies, whether, of course, it's threats and

03:53cyber hacking. So very much saying sovereignty and our independence means that we are better strategically

04:00thinking together and working together, allowing for our differences. He regretted Brexit, but said that

04:06obviously, he and the French people accept it, you know, and that it has been implemented. And it's time for a reset,

04:13which is very much what Keir Starmer has been saying. And we'll remember very vividly, the 19th of May, when

04:18Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission came here, and that deal was struck between the United

04:25Kingdom and the EU. So I think, of course, it'll be analysed, and we'll see what the headlines come tomorrow. But of

04:30course, the big, so to speak, elephant in the room of the state visit is very much, if I may be allowed that

04:37analogy, is that of migration, that was always going to come up. And of course, what many people,

04:44politicians alike, and the population is waiting to see is what is announced in that UK, Franco-British

04:50summit on Thursday in Downing Street, and what deal will be struck between the UK and France. He

04:57acknowledged that actually, both countries face a huge, a shared burden. And he talked about gangs and

05:03people not being allowed to flout, he said, the rules, and that they were working very closely.

05:10But of course, this involves other countries as well. And that it was important to address the root

05:15causes of that, and the wider responsibility for the countries of departure and transit.

05:21The visit lasts for three days at Benedict. As you say, the importance of it can't be underestimated,

05:27and you've really globally told us all that it's about. We'll leave it there. Thank you very much indeed.

05:31Benedict Pavio, our correspondent in London, where Emmanuel Macron is beginning a three-day

05:35state visit. And as Benedict was saying, outlining all the areas of cooperation and mutual interests

05:42between France and the United Kingdom. We'll bring you more, of course, as that develops. We

05:47understand a very sumptuous state dinner being planned.

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