Johnson yet to have congratulatory call with re-elected Macron

Boris Johnson has still not spoken to Emmanuel Macron since his re-election as French president, but Downing Street insisted there had not been a row between the two leaders.

Mr Macron’s second term was secured with a victory over Marine Le Pen on April 24 and he was due to speak to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Mr Johnson’s official spokesman insisted the Prime Minister was not concerned about being behind Mr Putin in the pecking order for a call with a country which is meant to be a close ally of the UK.

“We’ll update you in the normal way when they speak,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

“You will know that they’ve spoken on a regular basis. Macron was obviously re-elected, so it’s a slightly different situation to having a new world leader, but I’m sure they will speak in due course.”

The official said that timings for calls between leaders “move around” and “we maintain a strong relationship with France, and that is evidenced by the joint action we are taking against Vladimir Putin in Ukraine”.

Mr Johnson posted a congratulatory message on Twitter on the day of Mr Macron’s re-election.

With Mr Macron no longer facing the challenge from the far-right and having to play to a domestic audience, commentators have suggested the UK will hope for a more constructive relationship with the Elysee Palace when dealing with issues such as post-Brexit fishing rights and migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.