French President Emmanuel Macron has called British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a clown ruling a great country, Express reported, citing a comment by the French leader to the weekly satirical publication Le Canard Enchaine.

The politician made a statement amid the migration crisis in the English Channel. He accused the British head of frivolity and pointed out that Johnson had let the country down.

It’s very sad to see a great country with which we could do so much, led by a clown, Macron said.

The official representative of the British Prime Minister, in response to the comments of the French leader, advised the governments of both states to focus on resolving the crisis to avoid further human casualties.

Relations between Macron and Johnson worsened after the British prime minister publicly released a letter to the French president with proposals to combat illegal migration. Macron slammed Johnson's approach to work and noted that the leaders of the countries do not communicate with each other via Twitter or the publication of letters.