Macron and Starmer agree migrant returns deal

Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer have agreed a so-called “one in, one out” deal that would see the UK return some asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel, in exchange for offering a legal route to others in France "with ties to the UK".

Announced at the end of a three-day state visit to Britain on Thursday, the scheme means the French president and British prime minister can both claim political victory at home as they face growing pressure to reduce levels of irregular migration from far-right opposition parties.

This agreement, a so-called pilot scheme which Starmer described as "ground-breaking", will be signed “as soon as legal verification procedures have been completed, including those involving the European Union,” Macron clarified.

The French President also said that France would be adapting “its maritime intervention doctrine” – in other words, authorising the interception of smugglers’ boats up to 300 metres from the French coast.

This deal, which has raised serious concerns among some other EU countries, may initially apply to just fifty migrants a week, according to Le Monde – that is, around 2,600 per year – before being gradually expanded. Talks were reportedly stalled earlier this week in light of the objections of five Mediterranean countries, if migrants were to be returned from Britain to the first EU country they arrived in.

More than 20,000 people successfully crossed the Channel during the first six months of 2025 – a 50% increase compared to last year. Since the signing of the Sandhurst Treaty between Paris and London in 2018, the UK has paid France €760 million to strengthen coastal surveillance.

At the Northwood military base, Macron and Starmer also agreed to improve coordination between their two countries’ nuclear forces, which could be “jointly deployed” in the event of a threat. Paris and London consider that any “extreme threat to Europe’s security” would trigger “a swift response from both countries, whatever form that response may take.”

The two leaders also announced a joint operations headquarters in Paris for the coalition of 31 countries willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine post-ceasefire. The base will move to London after a year.