French president Emmanuel Macron said the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum shows what the two countries “can achieve when they join forces”.
Around 7.5 million people are expected to see the tapestry in London when it goes on show from September to July 2027.
Writing in The Times, Macron said the loan was a “tangible expression of long-standing friendship and a sign of our shared desire to see France and the United Kingdom build their future together”.
He said the two nations recognise what sets each other apart, but also “their natural affinity and what they can achieve when they join forces”.
“This is what our partnership must continue to embody,” he said. “The UK is a strategic partner, ally and friend of France.
“Faced with the major challenges of our time – the security of our continent, technological sovereignty, innovation, energy and decarbonisation, and the resilience of our democracies – we have chosen to act together.”
“The Bayeux Tapestry is an unfinished story. Its conclusion eludes us; its final scene does not bring the story to a close.
“Perhaps that is where its most contemporary strength lies. It is our job to write the next chapter, in a spirit of respect, trust and renewed alliance.”
The tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from King Harold and become the first Norman king of England.
It has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in Normandy since 1983 and will return there when the museum opens after renovation.