France cancels talks with UK as migrant row tests fragile ties

French President Emmanuel Macron told Britain on Friday it needed to "get serious" or remain locked out of discussions over how to curb the flow of migrants escaping war and poverty across the Channel. 

Macron was responding to a letter by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which the British leader set steps that he said would deter migrants from making the perilous journey across the sea separating the two countries.

Johnson, who has previously said France was at fault, insisted in the letter that France agree on joint patrols on its shores and consent to taking back the migrants that make it to Britain. Infuriated by the letter, and not the least by the fact that Johnson published it on Twitter, the French government cancelled an invitation to UK Home Minister Priti Patel to attend a meeting on Sunday in Calais.