LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced tougher migration controls on Thursday, ending a state visit with deals on defence, nuclear cooperation and plans to support Ukraine in case of a ceasefire.
After hosting Macron for a three-day visit that included a carriage procession to Windsor Castle with King Charles and a state banquet, Starmer was handed a much-desired boost when Macron said France had agreed to a migrant returns scheme.
Starmer, who has seen his popularity slide since winning an election landslide last year, is working to address high levels of immigration, including asylum seekers arriving by small boats across the Channel from France, to try to stem the rise of the populist Reform UK party, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage.
At a joint press conference, the two leaders said they had agreed a “one in, one out” returns scheme - which would see Britain deporting to France undocumented people arriving in small boats, in return for accepting an equal number of legitimate asylum seekers with British family connections.
“I’m pleased to announce our agreement today on a groundbreaking returns pilot. For the very first time, migrants arriving in small boats will be detained and returned to France in short order,” Starmer said, standing alongside Macron.
“This will show others trying to make the same journey that it will be in vain.”
It was unclear, however, whether the agreement would have a big impact.
A government source said they were looking at about 50 returns a week, or 2,600 a year, a fraction of the more than 35,000 arrivals reported by the government last year. Another source said the scheme could be scaled up.
More than 21,000 people have arrived on small boats so far in 2025, a record number for this stage of the year.
Fabian Hamilton, a lawmaker in Starmer’s Labour Party, said he was “sceptical that this is the answer”.
The policy, which is similar to a scheme used by the EU and Turkey, carries risks for Macron from his right-wing political critics who may question why he has agreed to take back migrants wanting to live in Britain.
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