Sir Thomas Drew, 55, took over from Dame Menna Rawlings as British Ambassador to France on September 1, 2025, when he formally presented his 'letters of credence' from King Charles to President Macron. He is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan, and Director-General of Defence and Intelligence at the Foreign Office.
He lived in France for several years as a boy when his father worked in the country for a British company. His wife, Joanna Roper, is the former British Ambassador to the Netherlands.
Connexion: That must be a first, to have an ambassador to France whose wife has also been an ambassador?
Thomas Drew: Yes, I think that is probably true and it’s fair to say we are probably the most senior couple in the Foreign Office!
Is it going well so far?
Yes, I’ve not lived in France since 1980, even though I was brought up here for four years and I’ve worked on and off with French colleagues a lot. So it’s great to be back.
I lived in Yvelines as a boy, when my father was working in La Défense. I went to primary school in Le Pecq and then to the international school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye [both in the western suburbs of Paris]. I’ve spent lots of my holidays here since then, but have not lived here.
Connexion: Paris must have changed a lot?
TD: Yes, it has been 45 years and, more importantly, I saw it through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy at the time. My vocabulary and cultural references were those of a child in the 1970s and 80s.
Also, all countries and all relationships have their ups and downs. I’ve come back, on the one hand, to see a city which looks great after the Olympics – cleaned up and special. When my colleague Menna arrived it was at a pretty difficult period in the relationship between the UK and France, so it’s now a much better time.
I come on the back of the UK-EU summit of May 2025, where we started the UK’s ‘reset’ with the EU, and the UK-France summit in July, which was a mixture of the concrete issues we diplomats get involved with as well as nice ‘human’ elements, such as the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK.
In my last job I was involved in things such as running our response in the Foreign Office to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I saw how, in response to a shared threat, the rest of Europe looked to France and the UK to work with each other when the stakes were high.
Connexion: Are you planning visits to regions with a high concentration of British people?
TD: Yes, I hope so. It's a really important part of my job, whether they are residents, as many of your readers are, or among the many people who visit France every year.
I have personally been in both those categories, having lived here and having been on holiday in France more than any other country in the world. I like to think it gives me a strong sense of what it means.
I have made three more formal visits outside of Paris, to areas where we have a presence.
The first one was to Lille, given all the transport connections and also migration questions. I've also been to two of our consulates, whose job is basically to look after people like your readers: Bordeaux first, which is a very British city in some ways, and also covering an area with a huge number of Brits.
And our consulate in Marseille, which covers the whole southern area across to the Alps.
Connexion: Do you expect to advertise public meetings people can attend, or will it be more low-key?
TD: I will do whatever is necessary. Certainly, we want to make sure that where there are issues, we have the chance to discuss them.
Also, given that we have British nationals across France, the work we do online is really important, including our various online posts and the Voisins Voices newsletter.
There will be certainly one of those out before Christmas with a message from me and useful information about issues that British nationals face.
Connexion: What are some of the important issues you are hearing about so far?
TD: I work closely with the consulates, and also various associations and charities, including the British Community Committee of France, the Franco-British Network, Rift, and the Hereford British Charity Fund.
The priority will always be to support those nationals who are most vulnerable, around hospitalisation, welfare issues etc. Where we can’t ourselves help, we work with these groups.
Then there are issues around changes or things people need to do, such as at the moment around renewal of residency cards.
As you know, 40,000 Brits need to renew before the end of 2026, so we need to make sure people know what to do and to talk to those in the French system to make sure things go as smoothly as possible.
Then, there are things we can advise on, such as renewal of passports, that UK nationals will need to do as residents in France.
Connexion: We have feedback from the interior ministry about their efforts to simplify Brexit WA residency card renewals using the Démarches Simplifiées (DS) website. What is your sense of how it is going?
TD: We are in touch with them too – it’s an important part of what we do. And it’s through some of these conversations that initiatives such as the DS process have taken place.
It is not uniform in its application so far but it is there in a lot of places. Most of the renewals will end up being due in the second half of 2026. We know also that the ministry is advising people to apply at least two months before expiry.
We expect more prefectures to have simplified structures in the new year.
It is in all our interests that those who need to get cards renewed can do so as easily as possible. It’s great that The Connexion also takes an interest as it is a really good way for us to get the information to the British community.
Connexion: Speaking of Brexit, we understand the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is up for renegotiation in May. Will that be a key issue in 2026?
The EU-UK summits are the most important thing now. The TCA is in place basically, and what is coming up is a review, not a renegotiation. It keeps going and most of the review we already did as part of the summit this year.
What we are talking about more now is the way in which it is implemented.
We have a common understanding from the summit in May 2025. Now we will be negotiating individual items compatible with the TCA, so it is not a question of throwing it up in the air.
Some elements will be of more interest to business, such as around plant and animal health rules for those transporting fresh goods. Negotiations on that are ongoing.
We have also agreed to work towards UK association with Erasmus+ [this is now confirmed for 2027].
Connexion: There has been speculation that the youth scheme would involve quotas.
TD: I think it's clear that it's not going to be unlimited. We agree that any scheme will be time-limited, on mutually agreed terms, and that the overall number of participants must be acceptable to both sides, with agreed terms around access to benefits, etc.
Connexion: Might that become more concrete in 2026?
TD: I hope so. We have reached agreements in principle of common understanding. And we would like to move when we can.
Connexion: Do you think EES is going to plan, according to the agreed ‘phase-in’?
TD: Yes, I think it was a wise thing to do, because with any new scheme you are likely to have teething problems. We worked closely with the French on the phased start. The last thing you want is lots of queues because everything changes in one go.
Connexion: Later in the year we will see the start of Etias. Has the UK’s version, ETA, worked well in the other direction for French people?
TD: So far, it has gone pretty smoothly. We have worked with groups such as Visit Britain to make sure carriers and tour operators communicate to their customers. So far, so good.
I would simply say with all these travel changes that when British nationals look in advance at what the requirements will be, for the most part things go well.
Meeting riders on the Royal British Legion’s Pedal to Paris event in 2025British Embassy Paris
It is also important that people should not use any unofficial websites or apps. The Connexion has been very helpful in putting out that message and we will be stressing it further.
The Connexion has also done some important work on the need for young people from British families to have DCEM [French documents proving they are residents, so do not need to register in EES]. The more we can work together on that sort of thing, the better.
Connexion: Another issue is potential simplification of the visa process, especially for second-home owners who apply for temporary visas every year. Will you be raising this with the ministry?
TD: Some of these things are consequences of the new relationship between the UK and EU, but if there are particular issues around simplification, we are happy to do so.
Connexion: It seems there is less taboo now among some British ministers with regard to criticism of Brexit and its impacts, including on the economy. Would it be undiplomatic to comment?
TD: No, but no one is suggesting there are plans to review Brexit. I think what we are seeing is how we make the most of the new relationship.
The government talks of a UK-EU reset, which is important where there are things which are mutually beneficial. But there are no suggestions we go beyond that.
We have looked at areas such as trade and economy. Migration and movement of people is an area where it is necessary to be particularly sensitive.
If there are elements of unnecessary bureaucracy, of course, we will try to help. But there is a reality also as to the relationship between the UK and the EU.
Connexion: In terms of milestones for 2026, there will be another EU-UK summit, likely around May?
TD: It may well be but the date hasn’t yet been fixed. Otherwise, there is the Bayeux Tapestry visit and France’s presidency of the G7 with plenty of Anglo-French cooperation through that.
I don’t know if we will have another Franco-British summit or not, but given we are neighbours and allies and have lots of shared challenges, including security, defence and economic matters, it is clearly ever more important that the UK and France work very closely with each other and that will only continue to get stronger through 2026.
Connexion: Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
Only that British nationals resident in France are themselves important ambassadors of the UK. And if there are particular issues and concerns, we are always there for them through our consular network.
I would also like to say that if you – or your friends and family – are crossing the Channel over Christmas and the New Year, please sign up for ourtravel advice alerts and follow any advice from your carrier.
On that note, I wish you a very happy and peaceful festive season – whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or simply looking forward to spending time with loved ones. Joyeuses fêtes!
