France and the United Kingdom have agreed to a new deal to prevent undocumented migrants from crossing the Channel, with France committing to doubling law enforcement presence on the coast, and the UK contributing up to €766 million – some of which will be paid only if France delivers results.
After months of wrangling, France and the UK have agreed to renew the Sandhurst Treaty, first signed in 2018 and extended in 2023, which sets the UK's commitment to funding law enforcement operations in France to stop would-be asylum seekers from heading out into the Channel in small boats to reach the UK.
The UK has accused France of not doing enough to prevent migrants from setting off from French shores.
Under the new deal, the UK will provide up to €766 million to France, some of it to paid only if the French measures are deemed successful.
UK seeks 'value for money' to renew France migrant deal
Increased police presence
If the new measures do not deliver "sufficient results, based on a joint annual assessment, the funding will be redirected to new actions”, said a French Interior Ministry roadmap, seen by the AFP news agency.
Even if the conditional portion is not paid, however, the UK's core contribution of €580 million still represents a €40 million increase on what it paid under the last treaty.
France will increase the number of law enforcement officers to 1,400 by 2029, including a new 50-strong riot police unit, expanded intelligence and judicial police teams, and additional maritime patrols.
It is looking to deploy drones, helicopters and digital resources for surveillance. Under the international law of the sea, once a boat has set off from shore, the authorities can only intervene to save people from drowning.
French interior minister Laurent Nunez and his UK counterpart Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood are set to lay out further details of the plan on Thursday, on a visit to the construction site for a centre for people set to be deported from France at Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk.
Arrest of smugglers
The UK government said that joint work with France had halted more than 42,000 attempted crossings since Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party took office in July 2024.
At least 29 migrants died at sea in the Channel in 2025, according to a count made by AFP, based on official French and British sources.
First deaths in Channel of 2026 as France and UK weigh how to stop small boats
According to British figures, 41,472 undocumented people reached the UK in small boats in 2025 – the second-highest figure since 2018, when the large-scale crossings were first detected.
France has pointed to the fact that since the beginning of 2026, arrivals to the UK have halved compared with the same period last year.
The French Interior Ministry said that around 480 people smugglers were arrested in 2025.
(with newswires)
