Charles’ biographer Robert Hardman pointed out that a state visit would not be the place for “anything specific about particular country’s policies,” but the king’s speeches always contain “a sort of general point about the importance of looking after the planet.”
On this point, the two men may be on less comfortable territory than usual. They have bonded over their belief in environmental protection in the past, with Macron seeing himself as the custodian of the Paris climate accord. The French president is now, however, pushing for the rollback of some EU-wide decarbonization targets.
The stickier stuff — such as continued wrangling over how to tackle illegal migration, and a host of EU-wide issues such as touring rights and youth mobility — will be left to Macron’s audience with Starmer.
The British prime minister, like Macron, may be all too keen to absorb himself in the trappings of an international summit at a difficult moment in his premiership. While the British prime minister struggles to push through planned cuts to public spending and tax rises loom, Macron’s government is struggling to get any legislation passed by a paralyzed parliament.
In recent months, the French president has pivoted more and more toward the international stage, holding conversations with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Trump and other world leaders, with conflicts in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East top of his agenda.
Macron used to rule supreme in French politics but now sees his interventions in national politics challenged, even by his allies.