Boris Johnson has taken a cavalier approach to
Brexit diplomacy during a crunch meeting with Emmanuel Macron.
The
UK prime minister met the French president on Thursday as part of his tour of European capitals to forge a fresh Brexit deal.
A day after the PM was given a “blistering” 30-day timetable by German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, Johnson went to
Paris to thrash things out with Macron, who remains a tougher nut to crack.
As the pair posed for the cameras, Johnson was captured looking supremely relaxed: With one foot on the table and legs akimbo the Prime Minister appeared to be sporting the classic manspread.
However, footage of the incident later suggested the brief gesture was a shared joke, with the prime minister appearing to pose for the cameras as the pair laughed.
Nonetheless, social media reacted in a manner that recalled the countless times they’ve been scolded for a similar act at home.The cussing you'd get for this behaviour in a Caribbean household...My gosh. https://t.co/RtLaK2faFy— Charlene White (@CharleneWhite) August 22, 2019My jaw dropped marginally lower than his manners. https://t.co/ukbLJZaupe— Shelagh Fogarty (@ShelaghFogarty) August 22, 2019The foot on the table! Both our Mums - Mary and Sheila - would be furious.— Nicky Campbell (@NickyAACampbell) August 22, 2019Our international reputation as a country with manners is being undone bit by bit by this clown. https://t.co/esO6NZKOlz— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) August 22, 2019As ever, it was reminiscent of a scene from The Thick Of ItBetter version pic.twitter.com/oJ5GFdVi6W— Simon Craven (@Simon_Craven) August 22, 2019And was there no respect for history?ffs Boris, Marie Antoinette probably ate croissants off that pic.twitter.com/NFxpE1SY8A— General Boles (@GeneralBoles) August 22, 2019Video of the moment the foot went on table shows Macron suggesting the table would make a decent footstool, and the PM was happy to obligeWATCH: Here’s the Reuters video of
Boris Johnson putting his foot on the Elysee furniture. It seems President Macron was making small talk suggesting the table would work equally well as a footstool should the PM want to recline, which Johnson then jokingly does pic.twitter.com/dnv37t9mS4— Tom Rayner (@RaynerSkyNews) August 22, 2019And there were other slightly odd moments shared between the two. Eye-to-eye, but
Emmanuel Macron stands on tiptoes to shake hands with Boris Johnson https://t.co/DiIHXzzLMn via @Telegraph— Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) August 22, 2019But it all seems to have done little harm: the Elysee later called Thursday’s encounter “complete” and “constructive.” Related... Macron Warns Johnson:
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