What the papers say: In praise of Macron’s charm offensive

Emmanuel Macron capped off his trip to Britain by taking a selfie with the Prime Minister last night. His charm offensive has paid off, says the Daily Telegraph, which suggests the visit shows what a post-Brexit relationship with Britain’s neighbours could look like. The progress in co-operation during the visit – on the migration problem in Calais and on defence, for example – is evidence, for the Telegraph, that the EU ‘is not the be-all and end-all of European co-operation’. After all, Britain’s close ties with France are matched ‘in the east’ by Poland, and ‘in the west’ by Ireland. It’s true that Macron remains opposed to Brexit and has said a decision to backtrack would be looked on ‘with kindness’. Yet for the Telegraph, the good relationship Britain appears to enjoy with France shows why a change of mind would not be a wise idea. The paper points out that ‘a former Bank of France governor, Christian Noyer’ has just admitted that warnings about the damage Britain would do to the city have been exaggerated.