A new agreement has been signed between the United Kingdom and France. It is supposed to curb illegal immigration from France, with increased funding over the next three years on the British side, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday meeting in Paris.
“Over the next three years, the UK’s contribution will be €141m in 2023-24, €191m in 2024-25 and €209m in 2025-26,” a statement said. broadcast at the end of the Franco-British summit.
“We are announcing a new detention center in the north of France, a new command center bringing together our teams for the first time (…) and 500 new additional agents patrolling French beaches”, detailed the British Prime Minister during the course. of a press conference. More drones and other surveillance technologies will complement the device “to increase the rate of interception”, he also said.
Nearly 46,000 migrants crossed the Channel in 2022
The French president stressed for his part that the two countries wanted to “move forward together” in the fight against irregular immigration while being “aware of the human issues” and “the extreme sensitivity of these subjects”.
He recalled that in 2022, “more than 1,300 makeshift boat crossings” had been “prevented”, 55 organized crime networks dismantled, “thanks to the work of the joint Franco-British intelligence cell”. Conversely, nearly 46,000 people were able to make the crossing last year.
The two countries had signed a new agreement in mid-November to fight together against migrant crossings of the Channel. But funding was planned until 2023 only. “Today we have decided to continue in this direction in a very operational, concrete way and aware of the shared nature of our responsibility”, declared Emmanuel Macron.