Macron visit offers a post-brexit vision

Did Emmanuel Macron overcharge Britain to boost security at the Calais border? Perhaps: but the £44 million that Britain has agreed to pay is hopefully in exchange for a lot more than a loan of the Bayeaux Tapestry. Theresa May wants to water down the French President’s assertion, repeated at yesterday’s joint press conference, that the only way to enjoy the full benefits of access to European markets is to obey the EU’S rules and pay into its budget.

Mrs May is obviously trying to build alliances and it is sensible to remind the French of the many ways in which they need our help. Take the continental migration crisis. Britain’s thriving economy, welfare system and NHS act as a magnet, drawing asylum seekers across France to reach us. And while Mr Macron is the toast of liberals here, back home he has assured voters that he will enlist the British to help turn off the magnet and restore order to Calais. In addition, he came to Britain seeking support on both defence – we are the only two nations in Europe capable of operating a serious joint expeditionary force – and foreign aid for West Africa.

Here, then, is tangible proof that the EU actually is not the be-all and end-all of European co-operation: Britain enjoys strong bilateral relations in several directions. In the east, Poland appreciates our support when it comes to containing the Russian bear. A little to our west, Dublin has worked closely with London to end the Troubles in Northern Ireland – a historic, heroic effort that makes the EU’S insistence that it was critical to the peace process, and should have the final word over any future border deal, not only inaccurate but also insulting.

Mr Macron has stated that France would look “with kindness” upon any decision to reverse Brexit, a message directed as much at his admirers in France as to Britain’s Europhile elite. The argument against a change of mind, however, only gathers strength: yesterday, Christian Noyer, a former Bank of France governor, admitted that concerns about the impact of Brexit upon the City have been exaggerated. The reality is that EU countries, including France, desire access to our markets as much as we do to theirs, and the generally upbeat air of Mr Macron’s visit is a reason to be optimistic. Britain’s future lies not in the EU, tied to its deadening bureaucracy, but in forging dynamic partnerships with friends old and new.