French President Emmanuel Macron became the first European Union leader to meet the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, during a two-day visit to the United Kingdom that began this Wednesday, September 2. The visit of the leader of the Elysée included the inauguration of a historical exhibition of the 950-year-old Bayeux tapestry, on loan to the British Museum in London.

First modification: 09/02/2026 - 20:58 Last modification: 09/02/2026 - 21:15

French President Emmanuel Macron joined King Charles III and new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday, September 2, to view the Bayeux Tapestry, a nearly 1,000-year-old symbol of Anglo-French relations, in its temporary location at the British Museum.

The three leaders and their spouses enjoyed a private tour of the 70-metre work of art, which depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

The work, which depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066 – and which has remained in France since its creation almost 1,000 years ago – will be on public display at the museum from next week until July.

“The loan of the tapestry is a great example of Franco-British cooperation”

This bold loan initiative is the culmination of years of diplomacy between France and the United Kingdom, with Macron playing a key role, and is seen as another step towards overcoming tensions that arose during the Brexit years.

“The loan of the tapestry is a great example of Franco-British cooperation,” Burnham told MPs on Wednesday, highlighting that “the same cooperation” has helped reduce the number of migrants crossing the English Channel to Britain in small boats to its lowest level in seven years.

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The British Prime Minister, who replaced Keir Starmer in July, will seek other concrete results when he welcomes Macron to Downing Street on Thursday, September 3, for talks.

The French president will be the first leader of the European Union received there by Burnham.

The former mayor of Manchester has made clear his desire to consolidate his predecessor's efforts to forge closer cooperation with the bloc post-Brexit, with the aim of boosting the UK's sluggish growth.

Since taking office, he has focused primarily on domestic politics but has maintained London's support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Read alsoWhat is the Bayeux Tapestry, the 11th century French treasure that will be exhibited in the British Museum?

“Equally important”

Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King's College London, warned of the danger of the visit being "form without substance", even though the United Kingdom and France may appear to be "great friends" on non-EU issues such as Ukraine.

“But on the underlying issues, and particularly those that will have some kind of economic impact for us in terms of growth, it is still very, very complicated,” he told the AFP news agency.

Macron forged with Starmer the best relationship he had had with any of the five British prime ministers he had worked with before Burnham during nearly a decade in office.

Both assumed leading roles in the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a coalition of nations that supported Ukraine.

"The president had developed a very cordial and highly effective relationship with Prime Minister Starmer, particularly regarding Ukraine and the Middle East," said a French Presidency official, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Coordination with Burnham was expected to be "just as important and frequent," the official added.

For Macron, who will return from a trip to the Netherlands, the visit is also significant as he is in the last half of his term.

The French leader remains determined to push forward his vision of European sovereignty independent of the United States, with the United Kingdom seen as having a crucial role to play even after Brexit.

"We need progress"

Starmer was also part of a tight E3 group alongside Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a group Burnham will likely want to maintain.

However, he is aware that a new French president is on the horizon in less than a year, while the German leader is under enormous domestic pressure due to the rise of the far right.

Burnham has so far only received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Downing Street since taking over as prime minister and visiting kyiv on his first trip abroad.

On the train to Ukraine, Burnham met European Council President Antonio Costa, whom she assured that "the UK needed to be bolder in its approach to the bloc", according to Downing Street.

The 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry, famous for depicting William the Conqueror's conquest of England in Normandy, arrived in London in July for the successful exhibition, having left France for the first time in more than nine centuries.

Experts feared it might be damaged, but the French Ministry of Culture insisted it had arrived in good condition.

Macron is "very interested" in seeing the tapestry displayed "in optimal conditions", spread on a table, according to a French Presidency official. At its headquarters in Bayeux, Normandy, the work is displayed on a wall.

"The devil will be in the details," Menon summarized his conversations with Burnham.

"You can have all the camaraderie you want, but we need progress in the negotiations with the EU, and I suspect we will not make any progress on that."

This article was adapted from its original English version

With AFP and AP

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