UK and France Strike Major Deal to Crack Down on Channel Migrant Crossings

(Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. photo by Reuters)

In order to prevent unauthorized migrants from taking the dangerous trip over the Channel in small boats, Britain and France have reached a new three-year agreement.

In order to combat illegal migration to Britain, France agreed to strengthen coastal law enforcement by more than half, reaching 1,400 personnel by 2029.

In the meantime, Britain will contribute up to 766 million euros ($897 million), but about 25% of that will be contingent.

The Sandhurst Treaty, which outlines the UK’s financial commitment to French efforts to prevent migrants from trying the dangerous sea passage to Britain, has been the subject of months of negotiations between the neighbors across the Channel.

Smugglers and migrants are taking ever-increasing risks to evade discovery, and the UK has accused France of doing too little to stop potential asylum seekers from leaving French ports.

London therefore demanded that it would only extend the Sandhurst pact, which was first signed in 2018, extended in 2023, and is scheduled to expire this year, if it could place restrictions on the French government’s use of British funds.

Anglo-French efforts have “already stopped tens of thousands of crossings,” according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and “this historic agreement means we can go further: ramping up intelligence, surveillance, and boots on the ground to protect Britain’s borders.”

In the event that the new initiatives fail to produce “sufficient results, based on a joint annual assessment, the funding will be redirected to new actions,” according to a paper on the agreement from the French interior ministry.

The UK’s basic contribution of 580 million euros constitutes a 40 million euro increase over what it paid under the previous deal, even if the conditional element is not paid.

On Thursday, French interior minister Laurent Nunez and his UK counterpart Shabana Mahmood will present additional details of the proposal while touring the proposed Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, housing facility for those who will be deported from France. 

“This landmark deal will stop illegal migrants making the perilous journey and put people smugglers behind bars,” said Mahmood.

The deal’s renewal comes at a crunch time for Starmer, who faces political pressure to curb immigration.

The centre-left leader is also engulfed in an unrelenting scandal over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Many believe Starmer’s political survival depends on his Labour Party’s performance in local elections in May. Polls indicate that it faces major losses.

Besides the step-up in law enforcement on the beaches, France is looking to deploy drones, helicopters and digital resources to prevent crossings, the roadmap said.

By the terms of the international law of the sea, once a boat has set off from shore, the authorities can only intervene to save people from drowning.

According to official British figures, 41,472 people reached the UK illegally in small boats in 2025, the second-highest figure since large-scale crossings were first detected in 2018.

According to an AFP calculation based on official French and British sources, at least 29 migrants perished at sea in the Channel in 2025.

In comparison to the same period last year, arrivals in the United Kingdom have decreased by half since the start of 2026, according to France. The French interior ministry reports that about 480 traffickers were detained in 2025.