LONDON (UK) – Adhering to social distancing norms by standing apart on either side of a strip of red carpet outside Number 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday demonstrated the unusual reality of international diplomacy in the COVID-19 era.
Macron’s visit to London to mark the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s call for wartime resistance is one of the most high-profile foreign trips by a head of state ever since many countries imposed lockdowns.
Unable to shake hands and then stand shoulder to shoulder while posing for photos outside the famous black door of Number 10, which is the usual ritual, Johnson and Macron had to improvise.
Macron put his palms together and offered a small bow and Johnson reciprocated while waving one hand around to direct the French leader to stand at a suitable distance.
While smiling and turning to face the cameras, Macron held up an arm sideways to check the distance between the two as Johnson offered his counterpart a slightly awkward thumbs up.
Britain’s social distancing rules mandate that people remain two metres apart to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The French president was exempted from a 14-day quarantine period imposed by the UK on all visitors arriving from overseas.
The scene in Downing Street was a sharp contrast to previous meetings between Macron and Johnson who, despite being at loggerheads over Brexit, appear to have a good personal rapport.
While on a diplomatic trip to Paris in August last year to break a Brexit deadlock, Johnson was pictured briefly putting his foot upon a coffee table inside the gilded Elysee Palace as he laughed and joked with Macron.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
