Macron says France and Britain will ‘save Europe’ as he starts a state visit to the UK

LONDON (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Britain to stick close to its neighbors despite its exit from the European Union, saying France and the U.K. will “save Europe” by standing for democracy, law and international order in a dangerous world.

On a state visit that mixed royal pageantry with tough political talks on Ukraine and migration, Macron said Europe must strengthen its economy and defenses and reduce its dependence “on both the U.S. and China.”

Macron’s three-day trip, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the U.K. by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the U.K. government's desire to reset relations with the bloc after Britain acrimoniously left the EU in 2020.

Macron addressed members of both houses of Britain's Parliament packed into the building’s ornate Royal Gallery. He said the two countries represent “a world order based on law, justice and respect for territorial integrity, an order that is today being attacked on a daily basis.”

“The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,” Macron said, adding that "we will save Europe by our example and our solidarity.”

He said that even though Britain has left the EU, "the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines. Because defense and security, competitiveness, democracy — the very core of our identity — are connected across Europe as a continent.”

The French president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were treated to the full force of British ceremonial charm, a far cry from the chilly relations of 2022, when then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the “jury is out” on whether Macron was a friend or a foe.

The Macrons were greeted at London's RAF Northolt air base by Prince William and his wife Catherine — wearing a dress by French design house Christian Dior — before being met by King Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor, west of London. They were driven to the almost 1,000-year-old royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolor flags.

The king and queen hosted a banquet for the Macrons at Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, with 160 guests including politicians, diplomats and celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Elton John. They were served summer vegetables, chicken with asparagus and iced blackcurrant parfait, along with Champagne and a gin-infused cocktail called L’entente, after the “entente cordiale” struck between Britain and France in 1904.

As monarch, Charles is expected to be above politics, but he spoke about the support Britain and France give Ukraine “in defense of our shared values," noted the challenge of “irregular migration across the English Channel” and said the two countries face “complex threats, emanating from multiple directions.

“As friends and as allies, we face them together,” Charles said.

Politics will take center stage on Wednesday, when Macron sits down for talks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on migration, defense and investment — including a 12.5% stake by French energy firm EDF in a new nuclear power plant planned for eastern England.

Macron also came bearing a tantalizing cultural gift: an agreement to send the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain for the first time in more than 900 years. The 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry showing the Norman conquest of England in 1066 will go on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.

At talks Wednesday and a U.K.-France summit on Thursday, Macron and Starmer will discuss ways to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats and try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent U.S. indifference to the idea and Russia’s refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor.

Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the U.K., either by stowing away in trucks or — after a clampdown on that route — in small boats across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The U.K. has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase patrols of beaches and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs.

It has all had only a limited impact. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2024, and more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50% from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died trying to cross.

British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop the boats, and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days.

France is also considering a U.K. proposal for a “one-in, one-out” deal that would see France take back some migrants who reached Britain, in return for the U.K. accepting some of those in France.

Macron said the leaders would try “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries.”

“France and the U.K. have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness," he said.

Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, though they have taken contrasting approaches to U.S. President Donald Trump, with Macron more willing to challenge the American president than the emollient Starmer.

Britain and France have led efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and U.S. security guarantees.

Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. British officials say the “coalition of the willing” idea is alive and well, with Macron and Starmer due to join an international videoconference on Thursday to discuss planning for the force.

Macron said the coalition was a sign that “Europeans will never abandon Ukraine – never.”

France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during their meeting in London, Tuesday July 8, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles III speaks at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Yui Mok/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron addresses parliament in the Palace of Westminster, London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron addresses parliament in the Palace of Westminster, London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)

Britain's King Charles III, center right, and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a welcome ceremony at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Jaimi Joy/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and France's President Emmanuel Macron, right, travel in a 1902 State Landau on a state drive to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Andrew Matthews/Pool via AP)

Britain's Prince William, and Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales arrive to greet France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, at RAF Northolt, west of London, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron, with his wife Brigitte Macron, are greeted by Britain's Prince William, right, and Kate, Princess of Wales at RAF Northolt, west of London, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, second right, are greeted by Britain's Prince William, right, and Kate, Princess of Wales at RAF Northolt, west of London, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, are greeted by Britain's Prince William, right, and Kate, Princess of Wales at RAF Northolt, west of London, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron, second left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, second right, are greeted by Britain's Prince William, center, and Kate, Princess of Wales, right, at RAF Northolt, west of London, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Geoff Pugh/Pool via AP)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)