PARIS (Reuters) -Record illegal migrant crossings across the English Channel this year showed Brexit had failed to deliver on a British promise of tighter border controls, said French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that British people had been 'sold a lie.'

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President Emmanuel Macron is on a state visit to Britain, the first by a French leader since 2008. His hosts are drenching him in pomp, pizazz and protocol.

Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron joked about Larry the cat, ahead of talks to finalise a plan on tackling migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.

King Charles III will highlight the crucial bonds between the United Kingdom and France in the face of a “multitude of complex threats” as he welcomes President Emmanuel Macron for the first state visit by a European leader since Brexit.

President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Britain, which began Tuesday, is heavy on pageantry. But both he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer hope for practical results.

French President Emmanuel Macron attended yet another lavish banquet Wednesday evening in London, this one hosted by London Lord Mayor Alderman Alastair King.

The star-studded gala dinner on July 8, held in honor of the first official French state visit in 17 years, saw Macron seated between Princess Kate and King Charles. The 47-year-old politician politely helped to pull out the Princess of Wales' chair and waited for her to sit before taking his own seat beside her.