Emmanuel Macron called Boris Johnson a clown and Britain a circle in a stinging diplomatic broadside. This was during Channel migrant crises, a French magazine claims.
Parisian insiders placed inexplicably claimed to Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Duck), the respected investigative weekly, that Macron had made these comments while on a recent trip to Croatia.
The day following the drowning of 27 migrants (including children and women) in a boat that was provided by people-smugglers as they attempted to reach England via the French coast, this happened.
Le Canard wrote: “As soon after he arrived at Zagreb, on 24 Nov. Macron talked to Boris Johnson by phone regarding the Calais tragedy.
The conversation revealed that Mr Macon had used Twitter to post a letter to Macron which he just sent.
Macron expressed his anger to advisors in Zagreb (Croatian): “Bojo talks with me. He’s down to Earth, everything’s okay, we’re having mature discussions, then he sticks it at us either before or after in an inelegant fashion. It is always the same circus.
Macron, who is a huge opponent of Brexit, blamed Britain for leaving the EU to create tensions that continue between France and Britain.
Le Canard claims that Macron told Boris Johnson, “Very quickly Boris Johnson realized the dire situation faced by the British. There’s not enough petrol at the pumps. As a victim, France is made the scapegoat. He tries to make every situation simple and complex. Since March, we’ve been stuck in the same situation.
“He’s done it on the fishing war, the submarine affair and the sausage war.” [in which France lost a multi-billion pounds submarine contract to build boats for Australia to the USA and UK].’
Then, Mr Macron quotes Mr Johnson as saying: “In private, he apologizes for his actions, but he acknowledges that he has to respond to the public’s opinion.”
Then, Macron stated: “It’s very sad that a great nation, with which could so much be done, is led by a clown.” Johnson seems to be a good-for nothing.
A spokesperson for the PM said that the reporter had not yet seen it. He added however: “The important thing we should do, as the Channel’s public wants us to, is concentrate on how we prevent more loss of lives.”
Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson smile together as they pose for pictures in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome during the G20 summit on October 31
The Prime Minister poses with a pair of ‘Build Back Better’ gloves on in a boxing gym in Manchester in October (left) and pulling a face at the Downing Street Briefing Room in September
Johnson on a September 7th visit to Westport Care Home, Stepney Green (left), and when he stepped out of the Sunbelt Rentals stand in Manchester, during the Tory party conference (right).
Emmanuel Macron called Boris Johnson (outside Downing Street, Wednesday) a clown and a boor after the PM posted a tweet he wrote to the French PM asking him to return migrants landing in the UK.
According to Le Canard, Macron said that he was saddened to see such an amazing country…governed by a clown and a boor.
Johnson tweeted a letter outlining British proposals for joint patrols and a bilateral agreement to permit the immediate return to their homeland of anyone who crosses the Channel.
Macron publicly condemned the demand and online publication of the letter.
This prompted the government of Priti Patel to expel him from the emergency meeting of Ministers from France Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands to address the refugee crisis.
The Elysee Palace did not comment today on the Canard tale.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Monday that France is ready to start discussions with the British if they enter talks in a serious spirit.
According to Home Office data, the number of people crossing the Channel rose to 25,776 by 2021 from 8,461 and 1,835 respectively in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Mr Macron warned the Prime Minister last Friday to “get serious” if the country is to address the crisis.
This despite Miss Patel pledging £55 million to Paris in June to help France patrol the border – the latest in a long line of similar lump sums provided by the UK taxpayer.
Macron stated that Johnson’s tactics, which Johnson called “not serious”, had surprised him.
French President said: “One leader doesn’t communicate with the other on these questions via Twitter or by public letters.”
Johnson said that he did not regret publishing the tweet to Macron.
While Britain accuses France of failing to stem the flow, France claims that once migrants reach the shores of the channel, it is too late to prevent them crossing.
French police regularly clear out the camp that has sprung up between Calais & Dunkirk. One charity worker said that evictions at Grande-Synthe, where today’s evictions occurred, have continued in an ongoing stream for the past few days.
The majority of migrants make it to country holding centers, from which they may be encouraged to seek asylum. Many then return to the Channel Coast.
Hussein Hamid was 25, an Iranian Kurd. He said it was his second eviction. The first time, he was bussed 500 miles away to Lyon.
Hamid attempted to quickly leave the camp by foot with a backpack but was stopped by the police.
A Kurd from Iraq told Reuters via text that he was hiding near the scene while police carried out their operation.
He said that ‘I’ll return if they don’t find you’ and requested anonymity in order to avoid any police reprisals.
These new arrivals increase the number of people who have reached the UK in this month’s total to over 6,000. This is more than the 3,879 that was set back in September. Record-breaking total of 25,772 people have arrived in the UK this year.
Here’s the first image of the dangerous and fragile dinghy which sank in Calais killing 27 people
A policeman inspects the beach close to Wimereux (France) on November 25, 2021
Following the deaths of 27 migrants heading for the UK, officers searched Wimereux beaches close to Bolougne.
According to the Zagreb report, Mr Macron made a fiery comment about Johnson. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson increased his lobbying efforts for a European returns agreement. This would help stem the flow in small boats that cross the Channel.
The PM met with his Belgian counterpart to push for the establishment of a UK/European Union return agreement for unsuccessful asylum seekers. This was in an effort to combat people smuggling after dozens died trying to cross the Strait.
Downing Street has provided a detailed account of the video conversation on Tuesday between Alexander De Croo and Johnson. It stated in the report that Johnson had ’emphasized the importance of breaking down the business model for people traffickers through the establishment of a UK EU returns agreement, using all of the modern technology available to us’.
A spokesperson from No.10 said: “The leaders agreed that recent tragic events underscore the urgent need for progress in this sector.
“The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s willingness to cooperate with Belgium and other European countries to accomplish this goal, and leaders decided that their ministers must meet quickly to move this forward.
After France had said that it would make suggestions to address the Channel migration crisis, the interior minister of France suggested that negotiations with Britain could resume after a diplomatic dispute.
Gerald Darmanin stated that Jean Castex, the prime minister of the UK, will write to Johnson Tuesday offering proposals for a balanced agreement between the UK (EU) and the UK.
Downing Street continues to insist that a French president Emmanuel Macron’s letter last week to Mr Johnson laying out a terms agreement for returns would be the’single greatest deterrent to the migration of migrants seeking to make the journey by sea.
The UK could enter into a returns agreement with EU to allow people to be sent back to their home country, France, or another member, in the event that their asylum applications are denied after they arrive in Britain.
London tried to get such an agreement through the Brexit talks, but Brussels declined.
If talks resume with France and other European countries about the issue of migrant workers, the UK government will likely argue for the option again.
According to Mr Darmanin, discussions can be had’very quickly’ with the British if they are willing to negotiate in a serious spirit.
As French police dismantle the makeshift camp they set up at Loon Beach, near Dunkirk, migrants gather
The Middle East and North African migrants are being expelled from their cramped camp at Dunkirk, on Tuesday.
Many migrants stayed along abandoned railroad tracks or beside a canal in Dunkirk.
The camp was cleared by armed police on Tuesday
Today’s camp was torn down at Loon Beach, the exact spot where 27 of the doomed migrants drowned.
According to a Government source, it was a positive move following the diplomatic spat that erupted after Wednesday’s capsize of a boat carrying migrants. It claimed 27 lives.
Johnson posted on Twitter a letter calling for French shore patrols and French return of those migrants who crossed the Channel. This angered Elysee Palace.
Macron stated that it wasn’t a serious way of negotiating, and Home Secretary Priti Paltel was expelled from Calais meeting on Sunday attended by ministers from France (Belgium), the Netherlands, Germany, and the Netherlands to address the crisis.
Darmanin however stated that they needed to cooperate to address a problem shared by both countries at Monday’s press conference.
According to Mr Darmanin, the Castex proposals could open legal pathways to Britain for asylum seekers as well as to unaccompanied minors who wish to live with their relatives.
But he stated that France cannot accept turning back ships at sea. He also said, “This is a redline for the French government.”