The visits of British sovereigns to France should be taken for what they are: symbolic staged events designed to celebrate ties, played out in images and gestures, displays of prestige deemed profitable on both sides, milestones in the long and tumultuous Franco-British history.
Since 1903, when the "Entente Cordiale" succeeded centuries of destructive conflict, these celebrations have been remembered less for the importance of the speeches made – "We do not drive on the same side of the road but we are heading in the same direction," said Queen Elizabeth II in Paris in 1972, on the eve of her country's entry into the European Economic Community – than for the moment they fix in the chronicle of friendship and rivalry between the UK and France.
In this respect, the context of the three-day visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to France, which began on Wednesday, September 20, the first since their accession to the throne, is clear. Voted for by the British in 2016, the divorce between their country and the European Union has acted like a slow-burning bomb, sparking not just a historic institutional rupture, but also a feeling of estrangement, even disdain, compounded by a thousand new practical obstacles that have interrupted the usual fluidity of relations. The provocations of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ephemerally triumphant over Brexit, and his affected turning of his back on the European continent, have only deepened the divide.
Scheduled and designed by Downing Street, like all royal visits, 74-year-old Charles III's trip to France, following on from his visit to Germany in March, confirms the current Conservative prime minister's desire to re-engage with the EU and France. Rishi Sunak has signed a compromise with Brussels to resolve the dispute over Northern Ireland, and to allow British researchers to return to European programs. At the Elysée Palace, he signed a new cheque to fund French police action against migrants crossing the Channel.
Normalized relations between London, Paris and Brussels are more necessary than ever, as Russian aggression in Ukraine continues and Western solidarity is put to the test. Whether in diplomacy, defense, climate, energy or immigration, the benefits of closer cooperation are obvious. These ties could be facilitated by the UK's growing awareness of the negative effects of Brexit.
But it will take much more than a dinner at the Palace of Versailles or a speech in the French Senate to overcome years of the UK's anti-European drift, and of mutual incomprehension. The UK's exit from the single market and its illusions of an extra-European destiny based on social, fiscal and environmental dumping have only served to exacerbate economic and financial rivalries.
Ironically, while King Charles, known for his passion on climate issues, was arriving in France with open arms, Rishi Sunak was announcing his intention to dial back the UK's environmental commitments. Tightening the frayed ties between the UK and France is imperative, but it's a political battle that will require consistency and coherence.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.