Reflections on a UK-France Relationship Reboot.

To quote His Majesty The King:

“The connections between our people are myriad and represent the lifeblood of our Entente Cordiale”.

People often joke about UK-France rivalry, and of course that can be real.? But it’s a sibling rivalry, based on a hugely rich tapestry of personal and cultural connections, shared values and history, political and economic links, profound respect.? These factors run strong and run deep.? The France-UK Summit in March renewed and re-energised our bilateral friendship.? Last week we turned it up to ‘le max’.

Trade is a fundamental pillar of this friendship.?

1. It’s worth nearly ￡100bn annually, rising +34% (￡25bn) last year.?
2. 33,000 UK companies export to France, supporting 562,000 British jobs.?
3. A whopping €2.6bn of French-UK investment was announced by public and private companies last week alone. ?

And there are abundant opportunities to do more...?

The royal visit and the launch of the Rugby World Cup heralded a new campaign of GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign activity in France designed to excite, encourage and welcome French businesses, tourists, students and talent to join us in ‘le Royaume des Audacieux’. ?

The depth of our friendship was celebrated in some spectacular moments last week...

The remarkable Red Arrows flying over the arrival ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, the State Banquet at the Palace of Versailles with guests from Macron to Mick Jagger, Hugh Grant to Charlotte Gainsbourg, Arsene Wenger to Patrick Vieira - central players in the soft power we share through sport and culture.

And there were informal magic moments too, such as a fiercely-fought table tennis match between HM The Queen and Mme Macron!

I was delighted to play my part in the Bordeaux* element of the visit.

I joined a reception on the deck of Royal Navy Frigate HMS Iron Duke, attended by their Majesties, the UK Foreign Secretary, French Armed Forces Minister and a selection of major UK/France companies including Airbus, Bordeaux Airport, EDF, Rolls-Royce, SNCF, Tikehau Capital. (*Twin town = Bristol)

At the buzzing GREAT-branded Franco-British Festival with 1000 guests in Bordeaux's Place de la Bourse I met a mix of?small, medium and much-loved UK brands on display for the French audience to experience – including Octopus (clean energy), Tyrells (crisps), Paul Smith (fashion), Gilbert Rugby (sports kit - especially rugby balls), Nyetimber (sparkling wine), Little Moons (ice-cream), NoughtyAf (zero-alcohol wine), Frugalpac (sustainable seaweed packaging), LettUs Grow (home farming), Ken Hom (food).

Sustainability is central to any conversation between our two nations

This was always going to be a central pillar for the visit with HM The King having been a tireless promoter over many years for climate action and respect for nature.

Hence the snappily-titled “Climate and Nature Finance Mobilisation Forum”, a royal ride on an electric tram, and the array of sustainable brands chosen to represent the innovation of the UK.

I particularly enjoyed seeing Frugalpac's flatpack recycled plastic wine bottles on display in the home-of-wine Bordeaux.

The UK-France relationship spreads joy and jobs across our nations.?

The potential for it to flourish further is huge.?

As the Department for Business and Trade Europe team we will do all we can to support that, with an ambitious programme of activity to help French businesses invest and grow in the UK, and to encourage them to procure the best and most innovative products, brands, services and solutions from British exporters.?

• If you want to be part of that, please visit www.great.gov.uk .
• Or if you are a UK or French business - maybe you're eligible to enter our Franco British Trade & Investment Awards? Find out more HERE.

Enormous thanks to our fabulous French hosts, to our colleagues in the British Embassy led by HMA Menna Rawlings, and to the wonderful DBT team within it, led by our own Jo Hawley.?

You put so much into this visit.? It was a triumph!