Jeremy Hunt says France and Britain ‘fought and bled side by side’ in First World War as he urges strong relationship after Brexit
- Foreign Secretary delivered a speech in French to woo audience in Paris today
- He said the two countries are tied by strong bonds of friendship and commerce
- Brexit is entering its final crucial stages with just weeks for a deal to be done
Jeremy Hunt today recalled how Britain and France ‘fought and bled’ together in the First World War as he calls for a strong post Brexit relationship.
The Foreign Secretary delivered the speech in French as he tries to woo dignitaries in Paris as the crunch negotiations hit their final, crucial stages.
He said the two countries will remain ‘tied by bonds of friendship and commerce’ in the decades to come.
And he said the cross-channel relationship is‘one of competition and co-operation, similarity and difference’.
Speaking just three days before Armistice Day, he drew upon the shared experience of French and British soldiers fighting together in the trenches 100 years ago.
He said: ‘This was a war which changed our countries and our continent forever.
‘It was a war in which our destinies as nations were yoked together – in which we fought and bled side by side for over four years – and in which, in the end, we prevailed.’
Jeremy Hunt (pictured in France today) recalled how Britain and France ‘fought and bled’ together in the First World War as he calls for a strong post Brexit relationship
Addressing a group of students and dignitaries in the French capital, he said the close relations between the two countries were laid bare when Paris and Manchester were both hit by deadly terror attacks.
He said: ‘We will never forget the moment after the Manchester attack when President (Emmanuel) Macron walked from the Elysee Palace to the British Embassy to express France’s solidarity, and the crowd at the Stade de France sang the British national anthem – nor, when, after the Bataclan attack the crowd at Wembley sang the Marseillaise.
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‘That is why, after the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury in March, France rallied to the UK’s side, leading a strong and united European response, working together to expel scores of Russian diplomats from our continent.
‘And in April, British and French aircraft, with our US allies, acted together to strike chemical weapons installations in Syria, and to enforce the global ban on the use of chemical weapons which was itself born out of the suffering in the trenches 100 years ago.’
Officials said the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Paris was aimed at showing the friendship is ‘bigger than Brexit’.
Mr Hunt’s visit comes at a crucial time in the negotiations to secure a Brexit deal.
The Foreign Secretary will deliver the speech in French as he tries to woo dignitaries in Paris as the crunch Brexit negotiations hit their final, crucial stages (pictured, French President Emmanuel Macron reviewing French troops yesterday in La Flamengrie)
Theresa May is believed to be on the verge of agreeing a Brexit deal with her ministers which she could take to Europe as early as next week.
Although she has put off a Cabinet showdown over her Brexit plan as ministers demand to see full legal advice on the consequences.
Some ministers and civil servants had expected the Prime Minister to call a meeting of her senior team to sign off a deal today.
But it is understood there is now ‘zero’ chance of Cabinet gathering before the weekend.
The delay comes amid bitter wrangling over the details of a proposed compromise on the Irish border ‘backstop’ – the final stumbling block in the fraught talks with the EU.
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