Britain and France have agreed a new three-year deal to stop undocumented migrants making the dangerous journey across the English Channel, according to a French interior ministry roadmap seen by AFP on Wednesday.
Under the deal, France pledged to increase law enforcement on the coast by more than half to combat irregular migration to Britain - reaching 1,400 officers by 2029.
Meanwhile, Britain will offer up to 766 million euros ($897 million) in funding — although nearly a quarter of this amount will have certain conditions and will only be paid if the French measures work.
Neighbors across the Channel have been squabbling for months over the renewal of the Sandhurst treaty, which sets out the UK's financial contribution to French efforts to stop migrants attempting to cross the dangerous sea in the hope of reaching Britain.
The UK has long accused France of doing too little to prevent potential asylum seekers – a hot-button issue in British politics – from setting off from French shores, with smugglers and migrants taking ever greater risks to avoid detection.
As a result, London insisted it would renew the Sandhurst treaty — first signed in 2018, extended in 2023, and due to expire this year — only if it could impose conditions on how British taxpayers' money is used by the French government.
According to the French ministry's plan, if the new measures do not yield "sufficient results, based on a joint annual evaluation, the funds will be redirected to new actions."
In addition to increasing law enforcement on beaches, France is looking to deploy drones, helicopters and digital resources to "better prevent crossing attempts" and reduce the number of departures, particularly of "taxi boats", the document added.
Under the terms of international maritime law, once a boat has set sail from shore, authorities can only intervene to save people from drowning.
According to official figures from British authorities, 41,472 people arrived in the UK irregularly in small boats in 2025, the second highest figure since large-scale crossings were first discovered in 2018.
At least 29 migrants died at sea in the Channel in 2025, according to an AFP calculation based on official French and British sources.
