Britain plans to spend another £44.5m to strengthen UK border controls with fencing, CCTV and other technology in Calais and at other ports in France.
Prime Minister Theresa May is to make the announcement today during talks with President Emmanuel Macron during his first official visit to the UK, the BBC reports. May and Macron are meeting at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and are expected to discuss cooperation on defence, counterterrorism, space technology and education, as well as the migrant crisis.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The five heads of the British and French security agencies will also be meeting together for the first time. Britain is to pledge to send three Chinook helicopters to Mali to offer logistical support for a French counterterrorism operation, while France will contribute troops to British-led Nato forces in Estonia in 2019, Reuters says.
The day-long photo op of political handshakes and smiles mask the French-Anglo tension beneath the surface, however, with May hoping that her flexibility will help ensure French goodwill in Brexit talks.
In what France24 describes as “diplomatic theatre”, Macron is expected to say France has agreed “in principle” to loan London the Bayeux Tapestry, the 941-year-old embroidery that recounts the 1066 Norman conquest of Britain. Despite the fanfare, Antoine Verney, director of the Bayeux Museum, has insisted that “nothing is set in stone”, CNN reports, and that the loan will be explored over the coming years.
The Guardian speculates that Macron means to make a “hard political point” about Brexit by mentioning the Bayeux Tapestry, with its metaphorical significance as a story of power politics.
“The English prince Harold forms an alliance with William of Normandy then betrays his promise to allow William to succeed,” the newspaper notes. “William invades, Harold is killed, and William rules England in his place.”
-
Magazine solutions - February 13, 2026Puzzle and Quizzes Magazine solutions - February 13, 2026
-
The pros and cons of tapping your 401(k) for a down paymentpros and cons Does it make good financial sense to raid your retirement for a home purchase?
-
Music reviews: Ari Lennox, Lucinda Williams, and A$AP RockyFeature ‘Vacancy,’ ‘World’s Gone Wrong,’ and ‘Don’t Be Dumb’
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
‘Lumpy skin’ protests intensify across France as farmers fight cullIN THE SPOTLIGHT A bovine outbreak coupled with ongoing governmental frustrations is causing major problems for French civil society
