UK and France strike $890m deal to stop migrant crossings

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - PARIS — Britain and France have agreed a new deal to stop illegal migrants making the perilous journey across the English Channel, according to the French interior ministry.
Britain's Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to sign the three-year agreement with France on Thursday, which will see at least 50 police officers, each trained in "riot and crowd control tactics", drafted in to tackle violence and "hostile crowds".
Under the deal, France pledged to increase law enforcement on the coast by more than half to fight irregular migration to Britain — reaching 1,400 officers by 2029.
The deal will also involve France deploying millions of pounds worth of drones, two new helicopters, and a new camera system to track down and intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants.
Speaking ahead of the new deal being signed, Mahmood said: "Our work with the French has stopped tens of thousands of illegal migrants boarding boats headed to Britain.
"But we must do more. This landmark deal will stop illegal migrants making the perilous journey and put people smugglers behind bars."
Britain will meanwhile provide up to 766 million euros ($897 million) in funding — though nearly a quarter of that will have strings attached and be paid only if the French measures work.
The cross-Channel neighbors have been wrangling for months over the renewal of the Sandhurst treaty, which sets out the UK’s financial contribution to French efforts to stop migrants attempting the perilous sea crossing in the hope of reaching Britain.
The UK has long accused France of doing too little to prevent would-be asylum seekers — a hot-button issue in British politics — from setting off from French shores, with smugglers and migrants taking ever-greater risks to avoid detection.
As a result, London insisted it would only renew the Sandhurst treaty — first signed in 2018, extended in 2023 and set to expire this year — if it could impose conditions on how British taxpayers’ money is used by the French government.
According to the French ministry roadmap, if the new measures do not deliver “sufficient results, based on a joint annual assessment, the funding will be redirected to new actions”.
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 figures from the British authorities, 41,472 people reached the UK irregularly in small boats in 2025, the second-highest figure since large-scale crossings were first detected in 2018.
At least 29 migrants died at sea in the Channel in 2025, according to French and British sources. — Agencies