Macron blames Starmer for migrant crisis

Telegraph

a day ago

Emmanuel Macron is demanding that Sir Keir Starmer make Britain less appealing to Channel migrants to secure a ' one in, one out deal '.
The French president believes the UK bears the blame for record numbers of small boats crossing the Channel and has three key demands to reduce its 'pull factors'.
Mr Macron, who arrived in Britain on Tuesday for the first state visit by a European head of state since Brexit, was due to announce the new agreement with the Prime Minister at an Anglo-French summit on Thursday.
A deal with Paris would allow Britain to legally return illegal Channel migrants to France for the first time since Brexit.
But Sir Keir is scrambling to rescue the pact after five EU member states bearing the brunt of European arrivals raised concerns that a deal would see them forced to take more migrants.
The Telegraph understands that Mr Macron wants Sir Keir to crack down on the UK's black market for labour and welfare payments and make family reunification for genuine asylum seekers easier as conditions for the deal.
An Elysée source warned that Mr Macron expected measures 'addressing the root causes of the factors that attract people to the United Kingdom', adding: 'These causes must also be addressed by the British.'
They added that France would be willing to discuss ways to stop more small boats leaving its shores during the Anglo-French summit on Thursday.
Mr Macron's allies have said the ease in which migrants can get under-the-table employment means Britain is viewed as 'an El Dorado' – a city of riches, where it is easy to work.
The demands emerged as Mr Macron enjoyed a day rich with pomp and pageantry during a visit celebrating what the Elysée called a 'pragmatic rapprochement'.
After being greeted at RAF Northolt by the Prince and Princess of Wales and treated to a royal procession, he addressed Parliament before the King hosted a state banquet in his honour in Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening.
Starmer must address 'pull factors'
In Westminster in the afternoon, Mr Macron went public with his concerns, telling an audience including Sir Keir that the British Government would have to address 'pull factors' to drive down migrant numbers.
Channel crossings have hit a record high this year with 20,600 migrants so far, the highest since the first arrivals in 2018.
Mr Macron said that a third of migrants entering the EU's Schengen area illegally were aiming for the UK as their final destination.
He said: 'France and the United Kingdom have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness.'
The president added: 'We will only arrive at a lasting and effective solution with action at the European level [...] as well as addressing migration pull factors.
'But let's be clear we will deliver together, as this is a clear issue for our countries.'
He also warned that French and British societies risk 'growing apart' and that Brexit was a 'regrettable' decision, although he said he respected it.
Mr Macron is making three demands to Sir Keir to get their 'one in, one out' deal over the line in time for Thursday.
The French president wants to make it harder for illegal immigrants to work in Britain. While asylum seekers are not allowed to work legally, the French view is there are not enough controls to prevent them from doing so.
The gig economy and delivery drivers are seen as areas that can be easily exploited, and Britain does not have European-style ID cards.
Mr Macron also sees benefits for migrants successfully granted asylum as another pull factor attracting migrants to Britain and another root cause that should be addressed.
Legal routes for genuine asylum seekers
His third demand centres on the number of small boat migrants trying to reach their families who are already in the UK.
Mr Macron wants Britain to accept one genuine asylum seeker from France who wants to rejoin a family member in Britain for each illegal migrant France takes back.
It is thought migrants will be less incentivised to make the dangerous crossing if they have a legal route into Britain.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has already prioritised a crackdown on illegal foreign workers and a blitz on delivery drivers, announced last week, in an attempt to counter criticism of the UK as a 'soft touch'.
Raids on companies suspected of employing illegal workers passed 10,000 in the past year, a 48 per cent rise and fines for doing so have tripled to £60,000.
In May, a Telegraph investigation revealed that asylum seekers housed in Home Office hotels are paying off people smuggler debts by illegally working as food delivery riders.
Meanwhile, a new law will make it a legal requirement for all companies, including the gig economy, to check workers are legal.
Plans are being drawn up to throw small boats migrants working illegally out of taxpayer-funded hotels and widen European-style digital IDs for overseas citizens.
The King addressed the small boats crisis on Tuesday night at the state banquet, saying: 'Our security services and police will go further still to protect us against the profound challenges of terrorism, organised crime, cyber-attacks and irregular migration across the English Channel.'
He added that there are no borders between Britain and France in the nations' joint quest to solve 'complex threats'.
Earlier in the day, the King was seen deep in conversation with the French leader, with whom he shares a good relationship, during a carriage ride through Windsor.
The King also kissed the hand of Brigitte Macron, the president's wife.
More than 950 servicemen and women from all three armed services, and 70 horses, took part in the ceremonial welcome, from troops lining the carriage procession route to a guard of honour featuring guardsmen from two of the British Army's oldest regiments the Grenadier Guards and Scots Guards.
Later in the evening, the state dinner at Windsor Castle saw the Princess of Wales attend her first evening banquet since November 2023, before her cancer diagnosis.
She and Mr Macron were among guests who enjoyed a Franco-British menu created by Raymond Blanc at which the King raised a toast to the French in a speech peppered with jokes.
Speaking partly in French, the King said: 'The summit that you and the Prime Minister will hold in London this week will deepen our alliance and broaden our partnership still further.'
Addressing the French president as well as Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John, he joked: 'We would not be neighbours if we did not have our differences' with 'amicable competition and occasionally even, dare I say, confusion' across cultures.