Asked for his response to the comments, Macron, during an official visit to Algeria, said it was “not good to lose your bearings too much”. If asked the same question, he said: “I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute. France is a friend of the British people.” If France and Britain “cannot say whether they are friends or enemies – and this is not a neutral term – then we are headed for serious problems,” the French president said. Truss told passengers in Norfolk on Thursday that as prime minister she would judge Macron by “deeds and not words”. But Macron said the UK remained “a friendly nation” and a strong ally “regardless of its leaders, and sometimes despite its leaders and whatever little mistakes they might make in a soapbox speech”. Former senior diplomats and a former French minister condemned Truss’s comments, saying it was irresponsible for someone likely to be Britain’s next prime minister to disparage a key ally and the comment would further damage cross-channel relations. Peter Ricketts, Britain’s former ambassador to Paris, said Truss’s comments were misjudged. “We are at the stage in the Tory leadership contest where the contestants have to start seeing themselves and behaving as the future leaders of the country,” he said. “France is our closest ally in defense and security. We have a 50-year commitment to test our nuclear warheads in France. As Britain’s foreign secretary, as its potential future prime minister, to insult the president of France, to joke, to indulge in silly ratings for cheap laughs, is simply irresponsible.” Nathalie Loiseau, France’s former Europe minister who now chairs the European Parliament’s EU-UK partnership assembly, said the comments were neither conducive to good relations between neighbors nor befitting a future head of government. “From a future leader, one expects leadership,” Loiseau said. “And from a future politician, one expects statesmanship. Her remarks do not fall into any category.” He said the comments would do nothing to improve Anglo-French relations, which have already been damaged by Brexit and bilateral disputes, but added: “For years, France has applied to its dealings with the UK a slogan we owe you : Keep calm and carry on.” The tensions created by more than five years of bad negotiations over the UK’s exit from the EU have been exacerbated by a series of cross-Channel disputes, including migrant crossings in small boats, fishing licenses and the Northern Ireland Protocol. Analysts say Paris no longer trusts London to keep its word, while London believes Paris is only interested in punishing it over Brexit. Hopes of improved relations following Boris Johnson’s departure do not seem likely to be fulfilled any time soon. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “Hope Liz Truss was joking,” Loizot tweeted. “Although it is a very bad joke. The only one who will enjoy hearing such comments from friends, neighbors and allies is Vladimir Putin. I propose not to offer him such a pleasant moment.’ Sylvie Bermann, a former French ambassador in London, said it was important to realize that Truss’ words “were the words of a candidate”. Candidates for election “tend to say what they think their voters want to hear,” he said. But he said it looked unlikely that Truss, who is widely expected to be named the new Conservative leader on September 5 and become the UK’s third female prime minister the following day, would preside over a thaw in Anglo-French relations. “We will of course, to use her phrase, judge her by her actions and not her words,” Berman said. “But there are fundamental differences between Britain and France that are not going to go away. And given what we know about her positions, I think things are likely to get worse.”
