French President Emmanuel Macron allegedly potshotted Boris Johnson in a private conversation, calling the British prime minister a “clown” in charge of “a circus” amid mounting tensions sparked by the migrant crisis between the two European countries, according to French media.
Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Paper) reported that Macron believes Boris Johnson wants to “scapegoat” Paris in a bid to deflect blame for the catastrophic results of Brexit, accusing the prime minister of trying to portray himself as a victim.
"We have grown-up conversations, but he strikes me before and after as having an inelegant way about him. It's always the same circus," the 43-year-old French president said.
“It is sad to see a major country with which we could do huge numbers of things being led by a clown,” the report cited Macron as saying.
The migration crisis between France and the UK gained a dimension after 27 migrants, including pregnant women and children, were killed in a sinking boat, on Nov. 24 while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the U.K.
The boat, attempting to cross the English Channel from Calais, France, sank, costing the lives of 17 men, seven women, and three children, with the incident deemed as “the worst disaster on record involving migrants” in the English Channel in recent years.
The tragedy dominated the front pages of British newspapers, with many blaming France.
Following the disaster, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency meeting on the issue of EU immigration and said his country will not allow the English Channel to turn into a cemetery.
Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed on the urgency of stopping irregular migration over the phone; however, a day after the call, a letter addressed to Macron and released on Twitter, suggested that France take back migrants who cross the English Channel.
Johnson said in the letter that taking back migrants "would significantly reduce -- if not stop -- the crossings, saving thousands of lives by fundamentally breaking the business model of the criminal gangs."
