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Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
'Don't come here': Greece's immigration minister warns North Africans
The Greek immigration minister does not mince his words. He may be new to the job but his message to the millions of young men waiting in North Africa to come to his country for a life in Europe is clear: 'Don't come here. We will put you in jail or send you back home.' In an exclusive interview with the Mail, Thanos Plevris said: 'The Greeks, like the rest of Europe, want to help real refugees, but we will not be taken for fools. It is the end of the fairy tale that those coming to Greece and Europe in incredible numbers are all women and children. They are mainly men aged between 18 and 30 who are economic migrants. We are not a hotel any more.' 'Many are from safe countries, such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Now we are telling them that if you sail in illegally by boat to Greece, do not expect asylum but get ready for five years in jail or a ticket home instead.' Greece is on the frontline of Europe's out-of-control migration crisis that, as Britons know well, has reached northern France where trafficking gangs are using fleets of small boats to send tens of thousands of migrants to Dover. Greece, on the other side of the continent, has its own relentless wave of newcomers. This year, at least 10,000 migrants have reached its biggest island, Crete, from lawless Libya a few hundred miles away across the Mediterranean Sea. In the first week of this month alone, just after Mr Plevris was appointed immigration minister, a surge of 4,000 arrived illegally on the island, which is struggling to cope. The coastguard and police are holding the uninvited foreigners in emergency camps in empty warehouses where they get a chilly welcome, basic rations and sleep on concrete floors. As we witnessed, they are young men growing dangerously angry while incarcerated against their will in the stifling summer heat. 'Our big problem today is with Libya and who they are sending over,' the plain-speaking and unapologetic Mr Plevris told me as he promised to stifle the migration flow for ever. 'Libya is using big vessels carrying 200, even 300, people. Of all those who have arrived, 85 per cent are male, and the majority of them are young. They are using Greece to enter Europe illegally for a new life. If we just continue to sit and watch, it will never end. Three million migrants are today massing in Libya. Now I plan to deter them from setting off for here.' Ten days ago, the Greek parliament passed a new law to help Mr Plevris get his wish. It suspended all asylum applications from those arriving illegally from North Africa for 'at least three months' due to the 'extraordinary' migration emergency. The European Union has sided with Athens, saying the Greek crisis is 'exceptional'. Under the legislation, due to be introduced within days, most of the illegal arrivals will have two choices: a five-year prison spell or deportation to their home country, at Greece's expense. 'We will no longer tolerate an invasion from North Africa,' Mr Plevris said. Migrant camps with prison-like accommodation are being prepared on the mainland to house future arrivals. 'Our immigration ministry is not a hotel service,' Mr Plevris added in a headline-grabbing television soundbite after the law won overwhelming support in parliament. He is also reviewing the 'current situation' where migrants are placed, sometimes for years, in welcoming reception centres with 'menu-style' meals and state benefits, while it is decided if they are genuine refugees or not. Greece's revolutionary agenda is backed by the country's prime minister. A key aide said: 'This is an urgent situation. We are taking extraordinary steps that are difficult and strict. Our government can no longer accept the migration flows from North Africa. People there need to think twice before they pay a large sum of money [to traffickers] to come to this country.' It is anybody's guess if the thousands of young men who have reached Crete in the new surge realise what a bleak future lies ahead. But in the few days since the law was voted in, no boats have arrived from Libya. When the Mail visited two of Crete's emergency holding camps, we were allowed to walk inside among the migrants but not permitted to speak to them. 'Be careful,' I was warned by an armed police officer guarding 400 migrants at a camp on the outskirts of Chania, two hours from the Crete capital of Heraklion. 'These are dangerous people. They all want something from you, even just a cigarette, and they get angry if you don't hand it over.' Inside the warehouse camp, the smell of unwashed men and urine made my eyes smart. As we walked in, the migrants shouted for help, putting up their hands to show ten fingers, the number of days they have been incarcerated here. There was a tinderbox atmosphere and the conditions were unpalatable, to say the least. Some migrants were lying on mattresses, resorting to sharing because there are so few. For the unlucky ones, it was a concrete floor with a T-shirt for a pillow. 'They all sit with their own nationalities, the Egyptians together, the Palestinians together, and so on,' said one female guard at the door of the warehouse. 'They are very difficult to control. There are so few of us, just five, and so many of them. We are tired, they are tired. It is not a safe situation.' One pitiful boy, who whispers to me that he is an Egyptian and 14, is barefoot and wearing just underpants and a shredded T-shirt. In one corner, standing alone, is a tall figure with dark hair and his neck covered in the red and white scarf of Palestine. 'He will say he is Egyptian, if he is asked,' a guard told me. 'But he has come from Gaza. He won't have an identity document because he will have destroyed it before reaching Greece. It makes our job of finding out who these people are, if they are bad or good, more difficult.' The police guards, just three men and two women, were under stress. If they open by a crack the giant metal doors to the warehouse to get in and out, throngs of men run to the entrance to try to reach the fresh air and escape the stench for a minute or two. 'No, no, no,' shout the inmates in one crescendo of furious male voices as the doors are snapped shut. Nearer Heraklion, in the mid-Crete town of Rethymno, is a second warehouse camp. If anything, the atmosphere was more tense still. It is on rough land overlooking the sea and a beach, and had nearly 180 men inside when we visited. Inside, we saw a gruff-looking police officer using a metal baton to control the migrants. One Egyptian who argued with him, after dilly-dallying for a few minutes on a visit to the latrine block in the yard, was chased and hit on the arm by the officer. 'You can show my stick on your photographs,' the officer said to me, 'but not my face.' He added: 'These men are disappointed, angry, and increasingly volatile. They will remember me. They expected to get a free pass into Europe because the Libyan boat traffickers told them that. Now we are keeping them here. They are not getting what they wanted or hoped for. It is difficult to make them stay calm. You must be wary.' It is at the Rethymno camp that we saw migrants being deported, first to Heraklion port and then to mainland Greece, in an operation resembling the movement of prisoners. During the afternoon, they were brought out of the warehouse in six nationality groups and made to sit on the ground in the blazing sun for half an hour to wait for buses to take them to the ferry for Athens where migrant camps have already been toughened up. Some held cardboard from torn-up boxes over their heads to protect themselves from the sun as they sat in the dust. Nearly all were barefoot, some bare-chested, and each carried a blue plastic bag of possessions plus a bottle of water. We were told that the migrants and the buses would remain in a closed deck area of the ferry away from fee-paying passengers for the night crossing. It was an operation with little compassion for the migrants, but the country has clearly run out of patience. Mr Plevris, who belongs to the Right-wing faction of Greece's ruling and increasingly conservative New Democracy party, said: 'Our prime minister has warned for years of the problems with immigration. 'We want to support refugees, but we believe it is important for our society that we only take those who want to be part of Europe.' He pointed out how many of the illegal migrants want to 'transfer' their own cultures and religious beliefs to Europe. 'They want to go on living by their own rules and they want us to accept that. But we will no longer do so,' he added. Mr Plevris said the European asylum system was skewed. It encourages migrants who cheat by throwing away their passports (to avoid showing they come from safe countries) or lying about their age to boost their chances of being allowed to stay. Egyptians wanting to escape military service destroy identity papers to disguise the fact they come from a country listed as safe by the United Nations and European Union. If the words of Mr Plevris, 48, sound like common sense today, his critics have dredged up the fact that he was a political firebrand when first elected to parliament in 2007 as a member of a now defunct hard-Right anti-immigration party. In 2011, he made a much criticised speech in parliament, which is still on YouTube. He said: 'In my opinion, the immigration issue can be solved in two ways. The first way is border security, which cannot exist if there are no deaths [to the migrants]. 'The second is that we must understand the logic of disincentives. We must tell the migrants when you come here you will have no social benefits, you will not be able to drink, you will not be able to go to hospital. [The migrant] must tell others in Pakistan that he is having a worse time in Greece than back home. Unless he sees a life of hell and not a paradise, he will come.' Controversial though his speech was, his appointment is popular with ordinary Greeks today. As I travelled in Athens to interview Mr Plevris, the taxi driver recognised the address. 'Ah. Are you going to see the new minister,' he asked. 'I would like to send him a message from people like me. Tell him on migrants that enough is enough. No more must come in. We all feel the same. We wish him good luck with his new law.'
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'Don't come here. We'll put you in jail or send you home': That's the message from Greece's new immigration minister as his overwhelmed nation passes a hardline law. So will Keir Starmer take the slightest notice?
The Greek immigration minister does not mince his words. He may be new to the job but his message to the millions of young men waiting in North Africa to come to his country for a life in Europe is clear: 'Don't come here. We will put you in jail or send you back home.' In an exclusive interview with the Mail, Thanos Plevris said: 'The Greeks, like the rest of Europe, want to help real refugees, but we will not be taken for fools. It is the end of the fairy tale that those coming to Greece and Europe in incredible numbers are all women and children. They are mainly men aged between 18 and 30 who are economic migrants. We are not a hotel any more. 'Many are from safe countries, such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Now we are telling them that if you sail in illegally by boat to Greece, do not expect asylum but get ready for five years in jail or a ticket home instead.' Greece is on the frontline of Europe's out-of-control migration crisis that, as Britons know well, has reached northern France where trafficking gangs are using fleets of small boats to send tens of thousands of migrants to Dover. Greece, on the other side of the continent, has its own relentless wave of newcomers. This year, at least 10,000 migrants have reached its biggest island, Crete, from lawless Libya a few hundred miles away across the Mediterranean Sea. In the first week of this month alone, just after Mr Plevris was appointed immigration minister, a surge of 4,000 arrived illegally on the island, which is struggling to cope. The coastguard and police are holding the uninvited foreigners in emergency camps in empty warehouses where they get a chilly welcome, basic rations and sleep on concrete floors. As we witnessed, they are young men growing dangerously angry while incarcerated against their will in the stifling summer heat. 'Our big problem today is with Libya and who they are sending over,' the plain-speaking and unapologetic Mr Plevris told me as he promised to stifle the migration flow for ever. 'Libya is using big vessels carrying 200, even 300, people. Of all those who have arrived, 85 per cent are male, and the majority of them are young. They are using Greece to enter Europe illegally for a new life. 'If we just continue to sit and watch, it will never end. Three million migrants are today massing in Libya. 'Now I plan to deter them from setting off for here.' Ten days ago, the Greek parliament passed a new law to help Mr Plevris get his wish. It suspended all asylum applications from those arriving illegally from North Africa for 'at least three months' due to the 'extraordinary' migration emergency. The European Union has sided with Athens, saying the Greek crisis is 'exceptional'. Under the legislation, due to be introduced within days, most of the illegal arrivals will have two choices: a five-year prison spell or deportation to their home country, at Greece's expense. 'We will no longer tolerate an invasion from North Africa,' Mr Plevris said. Migrant camps with prison-like accommodation are being prepared on the mainland to house future arrivals. 'Our immigration ministry is not a hotel service,' Mr Plevris added in a headline-grabbing television soundbite after the law won overwhelming support in parliament. He is also reviewing the 'current situation' where migrants are placed, sometimes for years, in welcoming reception centres with 'menu-style' meals and state benefits, while it is decided if they are genuine refugees or not. Greece's revolutionary agenda is backed by the country's prime minister. A key aide said: 'This is an urgent situation. We are taking extraordinary steps that are difficult and strict. Our government can no longer accept the migration flows from North Africa. People there need to think twice before they pay a large sum of money [to traffickers] to come to this country.' It is anybody's guess if the thousands of young men who have reached Crete in the new surge realise what a bleak future lies ahead. But in the few days since the law was voted in, no boats have arrived from Libya. When the Mail visited two of Crete's emergency holding camps, we were allowed to walk inside among the migrants but not permitted to speak to them. 'Be careful,' I was warned by an armed police officer guarding 400 migrants at a camp on the outskirts of Chania, two hours from the Crete capital of Heraklion. 'These are dangerous people. They all want something from you, even just a cigarette, and they get angry if you don't hand it over.' Inside the warehouse camp, the smell of unwashed men and urine made my eyes smart. As we walked in, the migrants shouted for help, putting up their hands to show ten fingers, the number of days they have been incarcerated here. There was a tinderbox atmosphere and the conditions were unpalatable, to say the least. Some migrants were lying on mattresses, resorting to sharing because there are so few. For the unlucky ones, it was a concrete floor with a T-shirt for a pillow. 'They all sit with their own nationalities, the Egyptians together, the Palestinians together, and so on,' said one female guard at the door of the warehouse. 'They are very difficult to control. There are so few of us, just five, and so many of them. We are tired, they are tired. It is not a safe situation.' One pitiful boy, who whispers to me that he is an Egyptian and 14, is barefoot and wearing just underpants and a shredded T-shirt. In one corner, standing alone, is a tall figure with dark hair and his neck covered in the red and white scarf of Palestine. 'He will say he is Egyptian, if he is asked,' a guard told me. 'But he has come from Gaza. 'He won't have an identity document because he will have destroyed it before reaching Greece. It makes our job of finding out who these people are, if they are bad or good, more difficult.' The police guards, just three men and two women, were under stress. If they open by a crack the giant metal doors to the warehouse to get in and out, throngs of men run to the entrance to try to reach the fresh air and escape the stench for a minute or two. 'No, no, no,' shout the inmates in one crescendo of furious male voices as the doors are snapped shut. Nearer Heraklion, in the mid-Crete town of Rethymno, is a second warehouse camp. If anything, the atmosphere was more tense still. It is on rough land overlooking the sea and a beach, and had nearly 180 men inside when we visited. Inside, we saw a gruff-looking police officer using a metal baton to control the migrants. One Egyptian who argued with him, after dilly-dallying for a few minutes on a visit to the latrine block in the yard, was chased and hit on the arm by the officer. 'You can show my stick on your photographs,' the officer said to me, 'but not my face.' He added: 'These men are disappointed, angry, and increasingly volatile. They will remember me. They expected to get a free pass into Europe because the Libyan boat traffickers told them that. Now we are keeping them here. They are not getting what they wanted or hoped for. It is difficult to make them stay calm. You must be wary.' It is at the Rethymno camp that we saw migrants being deported, first to Heraklion port and then to mainland Greece, in an operation resembling the movement of prisoners. During the afternoon, they were brought out of the warehouse in six nationality groups and made to sit on the ground in the blazing sun for half an hour to wait for buses to take them to the ferry for Athens where migrant camps have already been toughened up. Some held cardboard from torn-up boxes over their heads to protect themselves from the sun as they sat in the dust. Nearly all were barefoot, some bare-chested, and each carried a blue plastic bag of possessions plus a bottle of water. We were told that the migrants and the buses would remain in a closed deck area of the ferry away from fee-paying passengers for the night crossing. It was an operation with little compassion for the migrants, but the country has clearly run out of patience. Mr Plevris, who belongs to the Right-wing faction of Greece's ruling and increasingly conservative New Democracy party, said: 'Our prime minister has warned for years of the problems with immigration. 'We want to support refugees, but we believe it is important for our society that we only take those who want to be part of Europe.' He pointed out how many of the illegal migrants want to 'transfer' their own cultures and religious beliefs to Europe. 'They want to go on living by their own rules and they want us to accept that. But we will no longer do so,' he added. Mr Plevris said the European asylum system was skewed. It encourages migrants who cheat by throwing away their passports (to avoid showing they come from safe countries) or lying about their age to boost their chances of being allowed to stay. Egyptians wanting to escape military service destroy identity papers to disguise the fact they come from a country listed as safe by the United Nations and European Union. If the words of Mr Plevris, 48, sound like common sense today, his critics have dredged up the fact that he was a political firebrand when first elected to parliament in 2007 as a member of a now defunct hard-Right anti-immigration party. In 2011, he made a much criticised speech in parliament, which is still on YouTube. He said: 'In my opinion, the immigration issue can be solved in two ways. The first way is border security, which cannot exist if there are no deaths [to the migrants]. 'The second is that we must understand the logic of disincentives. We must tell the migrants when you come here you will have no social benefits, you will not be able to drink, you will not be able to go to hospital. '[The migrant] must tell others in Pakistan that he is having a worse time in Greece than back home. Unless he sees a life of hell and not a paradise, he will come.' Controversial though his speech was, his appointment is popular with ordinary Greeks today. As I travelled in Athens to interview Mr Plevris, the taxi driver recognised the address. 'Ah. Are you going to see the new minister,' he asked. 'I would like to send him a message from people like me. Tell him on migrants that enough is enough. No more must come in. We all feel the same. We wish him good luck with his new law.'
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Afghanistan-Iran migration crisis demands urgent action
Amid the ongoing conflict in the region, Iran and Afghanistan are grappling with a severe migration crisis. Since the beginning of the year, 1.2 million Afghan migrants have been deported from Iran back to Afghanistan, placing an immense burden on a country already struggling with poverty, instability and limited resources. Neighboring Iran and Afghanistan are bound by centuries of shared history. Their peoples are connected by cultural, linguistic and religious ties. From the days of the Persian Empire to the modern era, the two nations have moved between unity and divergence, particularly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. For decades, what is now Afghanistan was considered part of the greater Persian Empire, a legacy that is still visible in their shared identities. The formation of distinct nation states brought about formal borders; however, the bonds remain strong, shaped by common heritage and geographical proximity. These ties have made migration between the two countries both natural and frequent. The presence of Persian-speaking communities, especially the Hazara minority, and an open border have long facilitated Afghan movement into Iran, whether for work, refuge or as a transit country to Turkiye and Europe. After 1979, Iran began using Afghan migrants as a source of low-cost labor, particularly in construction. This trend deepened following the Taliban's return to power in 2021, creating another large wave of Afghan displacement. Then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi came from the migrant-heavy region of Mashhad. Under his leadership, Tehran took a more regulated approach to Afghan migration. His government launched one of the country's largest-ever registration campaigns, providing temporary residency to some 2.5 million undocumented Afghans and building a centralized identification system to better manage their presence. But these steps, however ambitious, could not withstand the geopolitical turmoil that erupted last month. Amid an intensifying war with Israel, including missile strikes and attacks on its nuclear facilities, Iran ordered Afghan migrants to leave the country, beginning on June 6. Within days, tens of thousands had fled or were forcibly deported. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 30,000 Afghans were deported every day during the Iran-Israel conflict. Iran is home to more than 6 million Afghans, the vast majority of whom are undocumented and living in precarious conditions. Tehran's sudden crackdown was reportedly driven by rising security fears, particularly suspicions that some undocumented Afghans may be involved in espionage. Iranian state media reported the arrests of Afghan nationals accused of spying for Israel during last month's 12-day conflict. Many Afghans deported from Iran find themselves returning to a country in an even worse condition than they left Zaid M. Belbagi This adds to the anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran, which has been growing for years. Afghans are frequently portrayed as economic burdens, with public discourse increasingly dominated by xenophobic claims and accusations that they 'steal Iranian jobs.' These combined pressures have resulted in the alarming consequence of 450,000 Afghans being deported from Iran since early June. Behind these headline numbers is a growing humanitarian emergency that raises serious concern. Humanitarian agencies warn of an unfolding catastrophe. Afghanistan, already struggling with entrenched poverty and severe climate shocks, is ranking 181st out of 193 on the UN's Human Development Index. It is simply not equipped to absorb such a large number of people. Returnees have no homes and are suffering from extreme famine and poor health. Many are suffering from heat exhaustion and malnutrition. In response, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched a $30 million emergency appeal to support returnees at border points, such as Islam Qala, and transit centers. So far, only 10 percent of the appeal has been funded. In response, the Taliban-led government has called on Tehran to organize returns with dignity, urging it to take into consideration the country's limited capacity. In such a difficult and complex situation, many Afghans deported from Iran find themselves returning to a country in an even worse condition than when they left, especially for women. Afghanistan, facing deep economic and humanitarian challenges, lacks the capacity to absorb the growing number of returnees on its own. This is no longer just a bilateral issue between Iran and Afghanistan — it is a regional crisis that demands coordinated action from Gulf countries, Central Asian states and global humanitarian actors, who should step up with increased humanitarian aid, temporary asylum quotas and basic support such as food, shelter and medical assistance. Addressing this humanitarian emergency requires a shared regional effort to ease the burden on both the Afghan people and the Afghan state, ensuring the stability of a region already under severe strain. • Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
King to tell Macron: ‘No borders' between us
The King will tell Emmanuel Macron there are 'no borders' between Britain and France in their shared efforts to solve 'complex threats'. King Charles will speak of the vital partnership between the two countries in the face of challenges 'emanating from multiple directions', faced together as 'friends and allies'. He will make a speech at a state banquet on Tuesday night, ahead of a political summit between Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Macron later this week aimed at tackling the small boats crisis. Speaking at Windsor Castle, the King will say that the continued partnership between the UK and France remains vital in facing modern challenges, as 'our two countries face a multitude of complex threats, emanating from multiple directions'. 'As friends and as allies, we face them together,' he will say. 'These challenges know no borders: no fortress can protect us against them this time.' He will add: 'Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world.' The King, who has long hoped to act as a peacemaker in global affairs, is understood to be referring to multiple issues where the shared values of Britain and France are under threat, including defence, technology and climate change. He is not expected to make specific reference to any current political matter. The speech will come as Sir Keir Starmer battles to save a one-in, one-out migrant returns deal with France that hopes to unveil with the French president later this week. The Prime Minister and Mr Macron have been working on a deal in which France would take back migrants who have illegally crossed the Channel in small boats in return for the UK accepting a similar number of legal asylum seekers from France. It had been intended as a centrepiece of the Anglo-French summit on Thursday, at which new strategies to tackle small boat migrants, who have crossed the Channel in record numbers this year, will be announced. The 'one-in, one-out' agreement is an attempt to break the business model of the people smuggling gangs by showing that migrants will be returned to France once they reach UK shores. Deal still 'in the balance' But government sources said on Monday night that the deal was 'complex' and 'in the balance', with negotiations still ongoing. The Prime Minister and president are also expected to discuss joint work on civil nuclear projects and a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. The King, who is politically neutral, will not be involved in any such discussions and will host the Macrons separately to their conversations with Sir Keir and other politicians. His banquet speech will instead see him embark on a charm offensive for his French guests, speaking warmly of his visits across the Channel. Mr Macron will meet Sir Keir, Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, and Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, in a series of political talks during the state visit. He will address MPs and peers in the Palace of Westminster's Royal Gallery and, on Thursday, join a UK-France Summit at Downing Street. The King will host Mr Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at Windsor Castle, welcoming them at midday on Tuesday with a carriage ride through the town with the Prince and Princess of Wales. In the evening, the French head of state will be guest of honour at the state banquet at St George's Hall at the castle, in which the full soft power of British diplomacy will be on display. At the dinner, which will include British and French cuisine, and music and drink from both cultures, the King will touch on the serious issues facing both governments. In his speech, with the Queen by his side, he will reflect on 1,000 years of 'shared history and culture between our two peoples', including the many historic personal connections with the Royal family. He will say that 'for centuries our citizens have admired each other, amused each other, and imitated each other', telling how he remains 'in awe of France's extraordinary attributes and achievements'. First state visit of King's reign It will be the first state visit hosted at Windsor Castle in more than a decade and the first of the King's reign. The last was in 2014, when president Michael D Higgins and his wife made the first Irish state visit to Britain. Since then, state visits have been held at Buckingham Palace, which is now partially closed for refurbishment and temporarily unsuitable for hosting duties. Mr Macron, like heads of state before him, will stay overnight in one of the private apartments at Windsor Castle with his wife. The state banquet will see the King and Mr Macron both deliver speeches, which customarily praise their respective countries and speak of both the past relationship and the future. The Princess of Wales will take part in some of the visit, including welcoming the Macrons at RAF Northolt on Tuesday morning on behalf of the King and travelling with them to Windsor. There, the King and Queen will formally greet their guests on a royal dais constructed in Windsor town centre, with the castle in the backdrop as gun salutes sound in nearby Home Park. A ceremonial welcome will be staged in the castle's quadrangle with the Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales and Mrs Macron watching as the King and Mr Macron inspect the Guard of Honour. The wider Royal family are expected to join them for lunch in the State Dining Room before they view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room.
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
King Charles calls for stronger UK-France alliance amid rising Channel crossings and challenges that ‘know no borders'
KING Charles today warns Britain cannot be a fortress despite 'complex threats' and challenges that 'know no borders'. His message comes ahead of an Anglo-French summit on the small boat crisis. 2 Charles, 76, will urge closer partnership with France in a state banquet speech tonight at Windsor Castle with President Emmanuel Macron. President Macron will fly in today for his state visit while dinghy crossings are high on the agenda — with more than 21,000 people arriving across the Channel so far this year. Speaking at the banquet in St George's Hall, the King will tell President Macon and other VIPs: 'Our two countries face a multitude of complex threats, emanating from multiple directions. "As friends and allies, we face them together. "These challenges know no borders: no fortress can protect us against them this time.' It is understood the King will address challenges of defence, technology and climate change — and say Britain and France can help lead the way in confronting them. It will follow a day of pomp and ceremony including a carriage ride through Windsor and ceremonial welcome at the castle. Meanwhile, a one in, one out migrant agreement with France has still not been finalised and talks are expected to go down to the wire, it has emerged. The proposal would involve France agree to take back a small boat migrant in return for Britain accepting one of its arrivals. But No10 yesterday insisted it expected new French tactics of puncturing small boats with knives in shallow waters to be 'operationalised soon' as standard practice. French cops SLASH small boat & drag it to shore as conveniently placed BBC crew film scene 2
