Emmanuel Macron is due to begin a state visit to Britain today (July 8) and he will meet the King and Sir Keir Starmer during his trip… but could the French President also consider meeting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage? That is the question that might be being considered by aides to Mr Macron who is likely to face some tough questions from Sir Keir over the Channel migrant crisis and the UK’s £771 million in payments to Paris to help them stem the tide of small boats.

On the other hand, Mr Farage has said the UK should activate the Royal Navy to tackle the dangerously overloaded vessels bringing more than 20,000 people to UK shores this year alone. Mr Farage said: “The ultimate threat is you literally tow the boats back to France.”

With Reform’s success at the ballot box in recent local elections, and in a by-election, the party has been widely tipped to be a force to be reckoned with at the next General Election. However, a meeting between Mr Macron and Mr Farage would cause embarrassment for the PM, but it could also prove beneficial for the French to cosy up to a new force in British politics.

President Macron is expected to be pressed by Sir Keir for more help stopping small boats crossing the Channel. Mr Macron will be hosted by the King during his three-day state visit, the first by a French president since 2008.

But there will be a political dimension to the visit as well, with the president expected to meet the Prime Minister for a Franco-British summit later in the week. Top of the agenda for that summit is likely to be action on small boat crossings as Sir Keir attempts to solve one of voters’ key issues.

This could include a so-called “one in, one out” deal to exchange Channel migrants for asylum seekers in Europe who have a link to the UK. Such an agreement is thought still to be on the table, but a deal has not yet been done.

Ministers have also been pushing for France to revise its rules to allow police to intervene when boats are in shallow water, rather than requiring them still to be on land.

Last week, French authorities appeared to change tactics when officers used a knife to puncture an inflatable boat after it had launched. But on Monday, Downing Street appeared to suggest a new approach had been discussed but not yet rolled out.

A spokesman for Number 10 said: “We are the first Government to have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime tactics so their border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters.

“This is operationally and legally complex, but we’re working closely with the French. We expect this to be operationalised soon.”

Mr Macron’s state visit comes a week after the total number of people crossing the Channel in small boats this year passed 20,000. The total now stands at 21,117, and is a record for this point in the year.