Sarkozy calls for Franco-British brotherhood

By Adrian Croft

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he wanted to build a stronger alliance with Britain and improve cooperation on illegal immigration, defence and the economy during a two-day visit starting on Wednesday.

Sarkozy, accompanied by his new wife Carla Bruni, will be a guest of Queen Elizabeth, address parliament and hold talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the first state visit by a French president in more than a decade.

"I want a new Franco-British brotherhood," Sarkozy told the BBC in an interview.

"Often it is our differences that are underlined and underscored ... but we enjoy the same music, we like reading the same authors, we have the same enemies throughout the world, we have the same aspiration."

Jacques Chirac was the last French president to pay a state visit to Britain, in 1996. Chirac also visited Britain in 2004 but that was not a state visit.

Brown and Sarkozy have struck up a good relationship since both came to power last year, but the popularity of both leaders has dropped since solid starts. Sarkozy's popularity has sunk since he married Bruni, a supermodel-turned-singer, last month.

Sarkozy has sought to improve relations with the United States and Britain which were strained by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, which Chirac resisted.

"Let us try and lay the groundwork for concrete projects. Think of the defence issue: we are the two countries that spend most on defence. Why don't we pool our arms industries so that we spend less money and be more effective?" Sarkozy said.

"On immigration, we shouldn't simply be guarding British borders. That is not our aim in life. Couldn't we better define an immigration policy? ... On the economy, couldn't we try and get the Americans to agree to do something about their dollar?"

Some political analysts say he is also reaching out to Britain because he does not get on well with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Berlin and Paris traditionally dominate the EU.

"I would like you to see us as historic allies for the future, as definitive friends. Friends forever. And I would like you to join in the shaping and building of Europe," he said.

FINANCIAL SYSTEM, U.N. REFORM

Brown and Sarkozy will urge banks to disclose fully write-offs caused by the global credit crisis, officials said.

Banks have written down over $125 billion of assets because of the credit squeeze sparked by low-quality mortgages in the United States.