The UK's agreement with France to fund beach patrols is on the verge of collapse as negotiations stall over the number of small boat interceptions and safety concerns for asylum seekers in French waters. The three-year, £480 million deal expires at midnight on Tuesday, with ministers including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood involved in deadlocked talks.
Downing Street has pushed for increased French interventions to disrupt people-smuggling gangs, but Paris fears that UK demands could endanger asylum seekers' lives. The UK currently pays nearly two-thirds of the annual patrol costs in northern France, and Mahmood seeks to link future funding to higher interception rates and better data on interventions.
A French interior ministry source told Le Monde that negotiations have failed and escalated to ministerial level. Xavier Ducept, France's junior minister for the sea, told a parliamentary commission that UK funding conditions could be extremely dangerous for migrants and French services, emphasising that rescue must come first.
French authorities now intercept about a third of attempted crossings, down from over 50% in 2023 when the deal was signed. UK officials believe stopping four-fifths of boats could break the smuggler model. However, French plans to target empty dinghies picking up asylum seekers in shallow waters were delayed after police unions warned of risks to life and potential prosecution.
NGOs criticise the expensive deals as ineffective. Lavanya Pallapi of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said the previous deal led to a surge in deaths, while Lachlan Macrae from the Calais Food Collective called it extraordinary that no agreement has been reached, urging safe asylum routes instead of more UK taxpayer money for French police.
A Home Office spokesperson stated that France remains the UK's most important migration partner and that joint work is reducing small boat crossings, but did not comment on the deal's status.
