France and Great Britain agree on measures concerning migrants

PARIS (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Friday to strengthen military ties between their countries and step up efforts to prevent migrants from crossing the English Channel during a summit that marked an improvement in relations after years of tensions caused by Brexit.

Sunak visited Paris as part of attempts to improve relations with France and other members of the European Union after tensions sparked by Britain’s departure from the bloc. At a cordial joint press conference, Sunak said his meeting with Macron – the first between the two countries since 2018 – marked “a new beginning, a renewed understanding”.

It was also a chance to signal to Sunak’s Conservative Party and British voters that the government is making progress on its promise to stop migrants reaching the UK on small boats.

Britain has agreed to pay France more than half a billion euros over the next three years in return for measures including a migrant detention center in northern France, a joint command center and more drone patrols on French shores and 500 more French police.

They are the latest and biggest moves in years of efforts between the two countries to stop thousands of migrants congregating in northern France and then trying to reach Britain.

Britain has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase beach patrols and information sharing in a bid to arrest smugglers, measures that have had limited impact.

Macron and Sunak said the measures had worked, leading to the disruption of more than 50 human trafficking rings, 500 arrests and preventing more than 1,300 boats from setting sail.

Yet more than 45,000 people arrived in Britain by boat in 2022, up from 28,000 in 2021, according to an official UK count.

EU border agency Frontex said 5,600 asylum seekers and migrants crossed the Channel in the first two months of the year, an 82% increase on the same period in 2022. The most common countries of origin were Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea, he added. .