- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

May Flies to Macron Hoping to Revive Entente Cordiale in Bid to Boost Image

© REUTERS / Stephane De SakutinBritain's Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron talk during a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, May 26, 2017.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron talk during a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, May 26, 2017. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
UK Prime Minister Theresa May flies to Paris, June 13, to meet French President Emmanuel Macron a day after she admitted responsibility for a car crash of an election, in which she lost her overall majority. She is now seeking to use the famous Entente Cordiale to boost her image at home and abroad.

Having faced a bruising encounter with Conservative MPs in the House of Commons, during which she accepted full responsibility for the disastrous snap election she called, hoping to increase her majority in parliament, but which ended in her losing it, May is seeking to use the UK's special relationship with France to help her win back a sense of authority.

British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the press in Downing street, London, Friday, June 9, 2017 following an audience with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace where she asked to form a government. - Sputnik International
UK PM Theresa May Set for Crucial Meeting as Decades of Anger Spill Over

The Entente Cordiale refers to a series of agreements between London and Paris, signed in 1904, ending a hundred years of intermittent conflict between the two countries, including the Napoleonic Wars. It led to a warming of relations between Britain and France, eventually leading to Charles de Gaulle fleeing to London in the Second World War to lead the Free French from London.

Although de Gaulle later went on to veto Britain's first request to join the European Economic Union — as it then was — relations between the two nations have become close, with the UK and France now cooperating on military matters much more closely.

May is seeking to build on the Entente Cordiale in an attempt to regain something of her stature having suffered a humiliating defeat in the general election, June 8. She has asked Britain to give her a mandate for a "strong and stable" government — with an increased majority — that she could use to go into the upcoming negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union — known as Brexit.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May's launches her election manifesto in Halifax, May 18, 2017. - Sputnik International
UK PM May in Dire Straits as Brexit Election Gamble Fails to Pay Off

However, having led a limp and wooden campaign that she centered on herself and losing what little majority she already had in the House of Commons, May's political worth has fallen through the floor and she has lost credibility both at home and abroad.

Flying High

Macron, on the other hand, is flying high, having formed a new political party in 2016, gone on to win the first round of the French presidential elections — knocking out for the first time in decades the two main parties, the Republicans and the Socialists — before going on to beat Front National leader Marine Le Pen in the second round.

© REUTERS / Christophe Petit Tesson/PoolFrench President Emmanuel Macron leaves the polling station after voting in the first of two rounds of parliamentary elections in Le Touquet, France, June 11, 2017
French President Emmanuel Macron leaves the polling station after voting in the first of two rounds of parliamentary elections in Le Touquet, France, June 11, 2017 - Sputnik International
French President Emmanuel Macron leaves the polling station after voting in the first of two rounds of parliamentary elections in Le Touquet, France, June 11, 2017

Macron has close ties with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and both are strong supporters of the EU — although Macron has expressed a desire for fundamental reforms within the bloc. In making her first trip abroad since losing the election and choosing France, May is hoping to build on the Angle-Franco alliance in an effort to restore some of her credibility in Brussels.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала