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Macron wishes Britain rapid return to stability
Arriving at an EU summit, Macron said he would not comment on British domestic politics but added: "It is important that Great Britain regains political stability very quickly, and that is all I wish."
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French President Emmanuel Macron gestures during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President following their meeting in Kyiv on February 8, 2022. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on February 8, 2022, he expected to hold a summit soon with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany, after meeting French leader Emmanuel Macron in Kyiv. (AFP/Sergei Supinsky)
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rance's President Emmanuel Macron wished Britain a rapid return to stability on Thursday as Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after six weeks in office marred by political and economic chaos.
Arriving at an EU summit, Macron said he would not comment on British domestic politics but added: "It is important that Great Britain regains political stability very quickly, and that is all I wish."
Relations between Paris and London have often been sour as Britain negotiated its divorce from the European Union, and threatened to get worse as Truss courted the hardline pro-Brexit wing of her party.
During her campaign to be elected leader of the Conservative Party, and thus prime minister, Truss famously said that "the jury is out" on whether the French leader was a friend or foe of Britain.
But there were also signs of a potential rapprochement on strategic issues, with Truss agreeing to attend the first summit in Prague of the Macron-inspired European Political Community.
News of Truss's resignation broke as Macron was arriving at the EU summit in Brussels, and he was asked about it by reporters.
Macron said that he had had several telephone calls with Truss during her brief time in office and had been glad to see her in Prague.
"I want to say that France, as a nation and people who are friends of the British people, wishes them above all stability," he said, stressing the context of the war in Ukraine and energy price crisis.
"But personally, I'm always sad to see a colleague leave in this way and what I want to say is that I wish stability can return soon."
