After days enduring the fallout from her election disappointment, there was a sense of relief for British PM Theresa May as she escaped to Paris to attend meetings with Emmanuel Macron and a soccer friendly between England and France.
With both countries experiencing recent acts of terrorism, there was a sense of mutual defiance and unity before both teams took to the pitch.
Earlier, Theresa May was keen to present a "business-as-usual" face in a press conference with the French President, declaring the United Kingdom's negotiations to exit the European Union would proceed as planned.
"And I believe that with the good process that's been set out by the EU for those negotiations, which start next week, and with the willingness and intent on both sides to build that future partnership then we will see an arrangement for Brexit that will be in the interests not just of the United Kingdom but of the remaining 27 members of the European Union."
Emmanuel Macron says it's not too late for a change of heart from Britain.
"Of course the door remains open, always open until the Brexit negotiations come to an end. That being said, a sovereign decision was taken by the British people and that's to come out of the European Union and I very much respect the decisions taken by the people but until negotiations come to an end there's always the possibility to re-open the door but let's be clear and organised and once negotiations have started we should be well aware it will be more and more difficult to move backwards."
Moving forward, there are signs Theresa May is making progress in her negotiations to stay in power.
An agreement is close with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) that would allow her to lead a minority government in the UK after her conservative party lost its parliamentary majority in Thursday's election.
DUP leader Arlene Foster says she expects to reach a deal "sooner, rather than later", while remaining tight-lipped on the details of just what it will entail.
"Well I'm not going to negotiate over the airwaves, but I think there's been a lot of commentary around the issues we're talking about, and it won't surprise anyone that we're talking about matters of course that pertain to the nation generally, bringing stability to the UK government, in and around issues on Brexit, obviously around counter-terrorism and then doing what's right for Northern Ireland in respect of economic matters."
But Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein has warned a potential agreement for the DUP to prop up a minority conservative government with its ten votes in the British parliament is causing fear and anxiety in Northern Ireland.
There are fears it could undermine a peace settlement that brought an end to three decades of violence.
Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff says the DUP's policies should be exposed to the British public.
"Their homophobia, their sexism, their sectarianism and their anti-Irish regressive politics. Maybe every cloud has a silver lining and maybe people here will begin to understand what they are actually dealing with in the DUP."
Their warnings came as MPs returned to Westminster for the first time since the election.
The once-derided Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is still revelling in the outcome....
Speaker: "I call the Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn...."
Corbyn: "Democracy is a wondrous thing and can throw up some very unexpected results!"
Those results have put Theresa May on the brink.
And as her cabinet meets to outline its legislative plans, to be presented to parliament by the Queen, Jeremy Corbyn is offering what would have been considered impossible not so long ago.
"I'm sure we all look forward to welcoming the Queen's speech, just as soon as the coalition of chaos has been negotiated. Mr Speaker, just to let the House know and the rest of the nation know, if that's not possible, the Labour party stands ready to offer strong and stable leadership in the national interest."
