[1andrew1]

Boris Johnson orders de-escalation of tensions with France

UK prime minister wants a reset in Anglo-French relations, possibly via a new treaty

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has ordered his team to de-escalate tensions with French president Emmanuel Macron, telling colleagues not to retaliate against what London regards as recent provocation from Paris.

Johnson is convinced that Macron is going to win a second term, according to allies, and wants to prepare the ground for better relations after next April’s presidential elections, possibly via a new Anglo-French treaty...

While Macron’s comments have attracted headlines in the UK, they have generated little interest in France. Aside from a row over the UK’s allocation of licences to France’s fishermen operating in British waters, French media are much more focused on Covid-19, immigration and relations with Germany.

Sir Peter Westmacott, Britain’s former ambassador to Paris, said: “I don’t think the French are nearly as obsessed about what goes on in Britain as we are about what’s happening in France. I don’t think it wins Macron votes.”

https://www.ft.com/content/ae87d27a-...c-819ff85a6638