Francois Hollande has made his first trip to Britain since becoming elected President of France. Mr. Hollande was welcomed by British Prime Minister David Cameron at a ceremony by the British Foreign Office. A rendition of the French national anthem proceeded the guard of honour on Tuesday.

Hollande later held talks with David Cameron at Number 10. The Prime Minister spoke of the close ties on energy and defence between the two countries:

"France is an essential and valued partner of Britain. Our economies are closely interwoven. French companies employ 180, 000 people across the United Kingdom. And we export more toFrance than to China, India, Japan and Turkey combined. We're working together to meet our future energy needs through close cooperation on nuclear power, companies like EDF and Centrica who are on track to develop a nuclear power station in Somerset. And our cooperation at the Channel Tunnel and seaports will help to secure a safe Olympics. And I am delighted that Francois will be coming to see some of the games for himself. On defence, we are the two major military powers in Europe. We both remain committed to building on the very close collaboration we agreed at Lancaster House in 2010."

Mr. Hollande went on to meet Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, who had earlier that day greeted the Olympic flame on its journey to the Olympic Stadium in east London.

Written by Alfred Joyner