Sir Lindsay Hoyle

Opening Remarks for the UK Parliament Address by President Emmanuel Macron

delivered 8 July 2025, The Royal Gallery, Palace of Westminster, London

Audio mp3 of Address

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

President Macron, Mrs. Macron, Prime Minister, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It's a pleasure to welcome you to Parliament. The historical ties between our countries are long and deep. Indeed, they are embedded in the language we use here in both Houses.

To start with, the word for our assembly, a parliament. Every day, I work with a document called the dossier. And as legislation is passed between the Houses, it is still endorsed in Norman French.

Our shared history goes back now over 900 years, but the Entente Cordiale began relatively recently, 120 years ago. Since then, our states have had a broad and deep partnership, working together on European and global security.

Together with peaceful ties, we have cooperated on defense in the past. We have fought side by side with France in the First World War. In every town and every village, our memorials remember those who went to war and did not return. F[rom] across the country, units like those in my own constituency of Chorley, the Chorley Pals, who fought on the Somme, went and did what had to be done.

And again, in the Second World War, we were proud to form a base for the French government in exile. The beginning of the end of the war came on the beaches of Normandy. In 1944, Speaker Clifton Brown led a parliamentary delegation to visit Allied troops on the front line in Normandy. And France has never forgotten how we fought together. In 2018, I was honored to be the ceremony in Chorley, where several of my constituents received France's highest honor, the National Order [of] the Legion of Honour, for their part in the liberation of France. In this year, the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan, we will remember them.

Our defense and cooperation continues and is more vital than ever. Fifteen years ago, on the 2nd of November 2010, the Lancaster House treaties were signed. Britain and France undertook to build a long-term partnership in defense and security. Fast forward to 2025, and last month I met President Zelenskyy again here in Parliament, a man who we are proud to call our friend. As Europe continues to be under threat once more, I salute your efforts, Mr. President, to work with our country to build a coalition of the willing, ready to play their part in ensuring Ukraine's future security. Defense remains a key consideration.

But our ties are not just defense-related, of course. They're also parliamentary ties. In March 1939, the first ever foreign dignitary to address both Houses was French President Albert Lebrun. He began a long-term and welcome tradition of engagement between French and UK politicians. Indeed, just a few weeks ago, I hosted my counterpart, Speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet, following a fruitful discussions [sic] at the G7 Speaker's Conference. There's always been strong parliamentary cooperation. Over 100 years ago, our countries were founding the members of Inter-Parliamentary Union, a body promoting peace, democracy for everyone through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue.

And then of course, there are our sporting connections. Like you, Mr. President, I am a big sports fan. When people think of French sport, they often think of cycling, rugby union, fencing, or football. My own team, built in Wanderers, had a fantastic French player, Youri Djorkaeff, when we were a good side.

But I want to praise your football, sorry, your Rugby football league, a passion of mine. In 1934, Jean Gallet [ph] took a French team that had never played rugby league and he went to Yorkshire. And thankfully, they made it to the right side of the Pennines when they came to Lancashire in England, my home county. As a result, French rugby league was formed on the 6th of April, 1934. The sport had many trials and tribulations to follow, including being banned and stripped of its assets under the Vichy government. But after the war, the French game was re-established and French [France] became one of rugby league's major powers. France was the driving force behind the establishment of the Rugby League World Cup.

However, the path of the game of 13 was not easy, so it was fantastic when a professional rugby league side, Catalan[s] Dragons, joined our Super League. Although it was great to see a French rugby league blossoming, unfortunately, I fear we have taught you too much on the pitch. The Catalans Dragons demonstrated their prowess in 2018 when they won the Rugby League Challenge Cup, beating none other than my home team, Warrington Wolves, 20 points to 14, before a crowd of 50,000 at Wembley. As they say in France, C’est la vie ["That's life"].

There are also feats of engineering which connect us. We all know that 30 years ago, the Channel Tunnel connected the two countries more closely than ever. But our countries also share energy links through the electric interconnectors and the great industrial partnerships such as Airbusrbus. We are truly bound together.

Mr. President, I welcome you wholeheartedly and hope the cooperation between our countries will continue to flourish.

Mr. President, please.

Original Audio and Video Sourceurce: parliamentlive.tv

Page Created: 7/9/25

U.S. Copyright Status: Text = Used in compliance with the terms of an Open Government Licence v3.0. Audio = Used in compliance with the terms found here. Video = Uncertain (downscaled from original)