Starmer to join Macron on Armistice Day in Paris to show European solidarity
GuardianNOV 11 2024
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has attended Armistice Day with French Pres. Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday, the first UK leader to do so since former Prime Minister Winston Churchill joined General Charles de Gaulle in 1944.
The Prime Minister's Office stated that his attendance in Paris for the 106th anniversary of Armistice came following a "personal invitation" from Pres. Macron, and noted the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, and the 80th anniversary of the beginning of liberating Nazi-occupied France.
The two laid wreaths beneath statues of Churchill and former French Prime Minister Georges Clemencau, before laying a wreath and relighting the flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.
While Macron and Starmer's Armistice Day meeting may be a successful media stunt, it is unlikely outside of the exchange of superficial pleasantries the event will ensure meaningful change. Migrants continue to illegally enter both the UK and France at record rates, while Europe remains unprepared to effectively defend itself if Trump decides to pull US support for NATO and Ukraine. With Pres. Biden yet to convince Trump to continue war efforts against Ukraine, and Labour unwilling to set out a plan to reach 2.5% GDP spending on defense, handshakes and photos are not enough to solve the growing list of crises.
Starmer's attendance in Paris at the personal invitation of Macron is a sign that relations between the UK and its European partners are finally beginning to heal post-Brexit. Given Germany's ongoing governmental collapse and uncertainly surrounding the decisions Trump may take in his second term, it is more important than ever that the likes of France and the UK come together in a sign of strength. The traditional ceremony in remembrance of how Europe once fought to defend democracy, not attended by a British leader since Winston Churchill, is an apt stage for such a message to be sent across the world.
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