{"id":319834,"date":"2025-08-05T12:50:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T12:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/319834\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T12:50:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T12:50:17","slug":"uk-to-begin-sending-some-migrants-back-to-france-under-new-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/319834\/","title":{"rendered":"UK to Begin Sending Some Migrants Back to France Under New Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK government will begin returning some migrants who arrived by small boats<\/a> to France within days, following the ratification of a new treaty between the two countries on Tuesday. The deal is a key element of Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s strategy to reduce illegal migration.<\/p>\n

One in, One Out Scheme Announced Last Month<\/strong><\/p>\n

As reported in Reuters<\/a>, the plan, referred to by officials as a \u201cone in, one out\u201d pilot scheme, was announced last month by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. More than 25,000 people have arrived in the UK on small boats so far in 2025. Starmer, under pressure from Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK party, has pledged to dismantle the smuggling networks behind the crossings.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/p>\n

A group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain as tougher migration controls were announced, from the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, July 17, 2025. REUTERS\/Gonzalo Fuentes<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, tensions have risen in parts of England where asylum seekers are housed in hotels, prompting protests attended by both anti-immigration and pro-immigration groups.<\/p>\n

Early Stages of the Deal will Involve Small Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper told Sky News that the returns will begin with small numbers and gradually increase. Those being returned are people who arrived recently, not individuals already in the country.<\/p>\n

Although exact figures were not confirmed, government sources have previously estimated the deal could involve about 50 returns per week, equating to roughly 2,600 per year. This remains a small portion of the more than 35,000 small boat arrivals reported last year.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/p>\n

French gendarmes on a boat approach a group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy to accompany them as they leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain as tougher migration controls were announced, from the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, July 17, 2025. REUTERS\/Gonzalo Fuentes<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/p>\n

A group of migrants get on an inflatable dinghy to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain as tougher migration controls were announced, from the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, July 17, 2025. REUTERS\/Gonzalo Fuentes<\/p>\n

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on X that the agreement\u2019s objective is to break up people-smuggling networks. Cooper emphasised that the France deal is only one component of the UK\u2019s broader migration plan.<\/p>\n

Wider Government Efforts to Curb Illegal Migration<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of its strategy, the UK government has imposed sanctions on smugglers, cracked down on social media ads used to lure migrants, and worked with delivery companies to disrupt the illegal employment opportunities often promised to new arrivals.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/p>\n

A group of migrants walk from the beach into the water to reach an inflatable dinghy to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain as tougher migration controls were announced, at the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, July 17, 2025. REUTERS\/Gonzalo Fuentes<\/p>\n

Though a treaty on the scheme was signed last week, it was not announced until after Tuesday\u2019s ratification. The UK stated that the European Commission and EU member states have given their approval for the arrangement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK government will begin returning some migrants who arrived by small boats to France within days, following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319835,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36,6657,16],"class_list":{"0":"post-319834","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france","11":"tag-migration","12":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114976248822120004","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}