1 week Ago By Nicholas Cecil
Sir Keir Starmer was meeting Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday for talks on how Britain and France ramp up Europe’s defence during a second Donald Trump term. The Prime Minister was attending a ceremony in the French capital to mark the 106th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918. But the leaders’ focus was also set to be sharply on present day threats facing Europe, most notably Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine amid fears that Trump will scale back US support for Kyiv, and possibly even for Nato.
In a bilateral meeting ahead of the Armistice commemorations, the PM and French president were set to hold talks on foreign policy issues including Ukraine and the Gaza conflict. Mr Macron warned at a European summit in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday: “We must not delegate forever our security to America.” The French president stressed: “The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores.
If we decide to remain herbivores, then the carnivores will win and we will be a market for them.” Germany, Italy, Poland and other major European countries will all have a role to play in beefing up Europe’s defence. But as Europe’s only two nuclear powers and with the continent’s strongest armies, the burden will almost inevitably fall most heavily on Britain and France to fill any defence gap left by America pulling away from its current stance on European security to focus more on the threat from China.
The British and French militaries have been co-operating increasingly closely, so their forces can take part in joint operations, alongside other allies. In a sign of the new focus on the Entente Cordiale alliance, No10 stressed Sir Keir had been personally invited by Mr Macron to the ceremony in Paris, and that he would be the first UK leader to attend it since Winston Churchill in 1944. Sir Keir was set to say: “I am honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen of the First World War who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today.
“These events are vital in ensuring the memory of millions of young soldiers, sailors, and aviators live on for generations to come.” The Prime Minister was due to lay a wreath at war memorials close to the Champ-Élysées and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe, a national symbol in France for all those who died in the First World War. He also announced more than £10 million for events next year to mark the 80th anniversaries of the Allied Victory in Europe and the end of the Second World War in the Far East, on May 8 and August 15 respectively.
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