French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly calling on the UK to recognise Palestine as a state ahead of a three-day state visit to the country next week. Mr Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are tipped to use the visit to announce a new ‘one in, one out’ migrant deal, aimed at curbing the number of small boat crossings across the English Channel.

However, it has also been reported that the French President is set to urge the UK to accelerate its process of recognising Palestine as a state. As reported by The Telegraph, the respective governments are said to be in disagreement over the speed and the process by which this could happen.

A Whitehall source told the paper: “The French are trying to get us back on board with recognition. We’re reticent.

“You do it when you think you can achieve something from it, not for the sake of saying ‘we’ve done it’.”

Mr Macron’s calls for Palestine to be recognised as a state have been met with opposition in Israel, as leaders believe a Palestinian state would “reward” Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 people and took 251 hostages back into Gaza in the horrific terror move in 2023. Israel has responded with a long military campaign aimed at destroying the group. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the Strip said over 59,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes.

The Prime Minister told reporters: ”Our position on recognition of Palestine as part of the process hasn’t changed for us. I hold very strongly to the belief that the only long-term solution to the conflict in the Middle East is a two-state solution.

“However hard that may seem at the moment in the current circumstances, that is the only way to peace. So that continues to be our position.”

President Macron and his wife, Brigette, will be welcomed by King Charles and Queen Camilla when he arrives in Windsor. They will then set off on a carriage procession through the town.

He will also address Parliament and tour Buckingham Palace, among other visits.