(dpa) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla, arrived Wednesday at London's Heathrow airport to start a two-day official state visit, the first by a French head of state in 12 years.
Sarkozy was welcomed at the airport by Prince Charles and wife Camilla, before then heading off to Windsor Castle for official welcoming ceremonies.
Ahead of the visit, Sarkozy called for closer Franco-British ties, telling British broadcaster BBC that both countries should perhaps "move from being cordial to being friendly.
"It has been long enough now that we have not been at war, that we are not wrangling," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy said the friendship between Britain and France "shouldn't simply be a matter of principle," but one that is "fleshed out by concrete projects on the economy, immigration, security, defence."
Sarkozy and his wife Carla are to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Thursday.
A meeting between the French president and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street is scheduled for the same day.
The talks are expected to range from the issue of the turbulence in financial markets and energy security to the engagement in Afghanistan.
French-British ties under their predecessors, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair, were fraught as a result of the Iraq war.
Sarkozy will deliver a speech before both houses of parliament in London on Wednesday afternoon before setting out for a state banquet at Windsor.