France, July 9 -- French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the United Kingdom on Tuesday for a landmark three-day state visit - the first by a European Union head of state since Britain's departure from the bloc, and the first by a French president since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.

The visit, marked by regal pageantry and weighty diplomacy, represents a pivotal effort to rekindle Franco-British ties amid global unrest and domestic political pressure on both sides of the Channel. A royal welcome

The visit began in Windsor, where President Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were received with full honours by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Greeted at a Royal Air Force base by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the couple were given a 41-g...