Message from the palace? UK hosts state visit for Macron before Trump

The Debate

His post may be largely ceremonial, but his messaging is crystal clear. The first state dinner at the palace of King Charles's reign goes to France's Emmanuel Macron, not the United States' Donald Trump. At a time when the United Kingdom is forced to rethink its role in an uncertain world, is it turning its back this time on Winston Churchill's adage that "if Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea"?

On that point, Macron was even handed the microphone at Westminster as the first European leader honored with a state visit since Brexit. We ask about his message and the symbiotic ties that bind the continent's only nuclear powers.

On one of the highlights of the three-day visit, the French president and the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Thursday jointly host a virtual summit of the "coalition of the willing" on Ukraine from the NATO base at Northwood, England. Will it be a symbolic show or a new chapter?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.