LONDON (AP) - Britain said Wednesday that it will send three Royal Air Force helicopters to join France’s military mission against Islamic militants in Africa’s Sahel region as part of closer U.K.-French intelligence and military cooperation. The Times newspaper published a cartoon showing Macron in Middle Ages military garb skewering British Prime Minister Theresa May: “Emmanuel The Conqueror: It’s One In The Eye for Theresa Regina.”

Writing on Twitter, broadcast journalist Robert Peston commented that “lending the UK a magnificent depiction of the last time this country was invaded and subjugated is a wonderful Gallic joke by Emmanuel Macron”. May said U.K.-French summit “will underline that we remain committed to defending our people and upholding our values as liberal democracies in the face of any threat, whether at home or abroad.”

One topic not high on the agenda is Brexit. Macron says the border issue “is a common challenge and we shall succeed together.”

In a significant gesture, British Prime Minister Theresa May has offered funds to ease French annoyance over a 2003 deal that placed British border controls in Calais, on the French side of the English Channel. Fears have been raised that if the UK yes not reach a good deal with the EU, it may threaten the Le Touquet Accord which puts Britain’s border in France and France’s at Dover in Kent. Macron wants Britain to take a bigger share of the burden by taking in more child migrants from Calais and paying more into development projects. “It will not be before 2020 because it’s an extremely fragile cultural treasure which will be subject to major restoration work before being transported anywhere,” an official in Macron’s office said yesterday. In a gesture of abiding friendship, or perhaps a subtle act of diplomatic trolling, French President Emmanuel Macron will offer to loan Britain the famed Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the French conquest of England, during his visit to the UK on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.