What Sunak needs from Macron

Is a new bromance about to blossom? That’s the hope in government when Rishi Sunak meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris tomorrow for the first Franco-British summit in five years. Items on the agenda for the talks include defence and security, energy and, of course, small boats. After Sunak came to an agreement with Brussels on the Northern Ireland protocol – known as the Windsor agreement – there is a sense that this is a ‘barnacles off the boat’ moment which will allow a wider reset of relations.

Sunak is keen to try a softer approach to diplomacy than his predecessors (with Truss saying she wasn’t sure if Macron was a friend or foe). He believes that by building amicable relations with leaders he’ll deliver better results than picking fights. The area where there is the greatest urgency to show this approach works is on small boats.