Keir Starmer will join Emmanual Macron in Paris for the French Armistice Day service in a pointed show of European solidarity days after Donald Trump’s re-election, with Ukraine and defence on the agenda for private talks between the two leaders.
The visit will have a symbolic element with Starmer becoming the first UK leader to attend France’s national commemoration event since Winston Churchill in 1944.
No 10 and the Élysée are said to be hoping it would be a significant European moment for France and the UK, two leading Nato powers, amid fears on the continent of the future of the alliance after Trump’s re-election.
The prime minister will fly to Paris early on Monday to attend the event with French and British veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the liberation of France.
No 10 said talks between the two leaders would “reflect on the close bonds between the two countries, many forged and cemented by the sacrifice of British and French soldiers on the frontline”.
Though Trump’s election was not a formal part of the pre-agenda for discussion, No 10 said they would discuss Ukraine and Gaza.
Boost UK defence spending to win Trump’s support, former navy chief urges Starmer
Whitehall officials have been tasked with examining how Trump’s victory will affect the final shape of the strategic defence review (SDR) due to be reported in the spring. Starmer and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, are understood to be planning to set out a path in advance of that deadline on how the UK can reach the 2.5% of GDP defence spending target for Nato member states.
Starmer and the foreign secretary, David Lammy, have cited the defence target as an area of common ground with Trump, who has repeatedly called for Nato countries to provide more funds and to reduce their reliance on US spending.
Trump has previously urged Nato allies to spend 3%, a marked increase from the current UK level. Speaking at a campaign in August, he said: “I’ll insist that every Nato nation must spend at least 3%. You have to go up to 3% – 2% is the steal of the century, especially as we’re paying for it.”
During the US election campaign, he said he would find a solution to end Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine “within a day”, but did not explain how he would do so. His vice-president nominee, JD Vance, has been vociferously opposed to providing more funds to support Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported that among Trump’s plans to bring about an end to the conflict was the establishment of an 800-mile demilitarised zone between the Russian and Ukrainian armies, policed by European troops.
Bryan Lanza, a political adviser to Trump since his 2016 presidential campaign, suggested on the BBC this weekend that Trump would force territorial concessions from Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump meeting in New York in September. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
“When [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy says we will only stop this fighting, there will only be peace, once Crimea is returned, we’ve got news for President Zelenskyy: Crimea is gone.” But a spokesperson for Trump’s presidential transition team said later on Saturday that Lanza had not been speaking on behalf of the president-elect.
On Sunday, a UK cabinet minister said the government was examining all possible options in terms of a potential change of approach to Ukraine by the US.
Whitehall officials were “considering and planning lots of different scenarios”, Darren Jones told Sky News on Sunday. Jones said the UK would not be stepping back from its own commitments. “We don’t want any countenance of the idea that we’re stepping back from that. That’s why we’re offering them £3bn a year, which you know, in the fiscal context here in the UK, is difficult but the right decision for us,” he said.
“Officials will be considering and planning lots of different scenarios – as they would do under any administration – to make sure that the UK is in the strongest possible position.”
However, Jones said he would not specifically commit to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by the end of the current parliament, saying security and defence were a priority but that meant “trade-offs” in other areas.
Military experts have said the incoming Trump administration has given new impetus to the need for Nato allies to “mend fences”.
Dr Karin von Hippel, the director of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, said it was a symbolic moment to have the French president and Starmer stand united.
“It’s important for the United Kingdom and the EU to mend fences and forge a stronger relationship now that Trump has won. The same applies to UK bilateral relations with European countries.
“America will no longer be a reliable partner for any European country, including the UK. So as much bridge building and scenario planning that can be done now is critical, including deciding where they will push back on the United States when they disagree.”
In Paris on Monday, Starmer will also meet the new French prime minister, Michel Barnier, the former Brexit negotiator whom Starmer met several times as shadow Brexit secretary.
He will lay a wreath at war memorials close to the Champ-Élysées and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.
“I am honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen of the first world war who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today,” Starmer said. “These events are vital in ensuring the memory of millions of young soldiers, sailors, and aviators live on for generations to come.”
Announcing the visit, Starmer promised £10m of government funds for the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day on 8 May and 15 August next year, promising events to involve tens of thousands of military personnel.
The prime minister has repeatedly said the UK’s commitment to Ukraine would be “ironclad” no matter the US president’s approach – though officials in Kyiv have told the Guardian they are frustrated over Britain’s failure to supply additional long-range missiles.
On Sunday, the UK’s chief of the defence staff said approximately 1,500 Russian troops were being killed and injured every day. Adm Sir Tony Radakin said Russia was still paying an “extraordinary price” for Putin’s invasion and October was the worst month for losses since the conflict began in February 2022.
