Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a photo during their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, March 10, 2023. (Image: AP)
Macron said his talks with Sunak marked a “new beginning” between Paris and London after tensions over Brexit and other bilateral headaches.
Britain and France agreed a new deal on Friday to crack down on illegal cross-Channel migration after talks between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Paris aimed at overcoming post-Brexit tensions.
London will give France a total of 541 million euros ($575 million) in funding over the next three years to enable the deployment of “hundreds” of additional French law enforcement officers on the Channel coast, the British government said in a statement.
Macron said his talks with Sunak marked a “new beginning” between Paris and London after tensions over Brexit and other bilateral headaches.
Sunak said, “I believe that today’s meeting marks a new beginning, a renewed Entente.”
He acknowledged: “If we’re being honest, the relationship between our two countries has had its own challenges in recent years.”
Under the deal, for the first time the UK will help fund a detention center in France to increase its capacity to deal with the number of people being trafficked across the Channel.
“We don’t just need to manage this problem, we need to break it down,” Sunak said.
“And today, we have gone further than ever to end this abhorrent trade in human life.”
The new funding from Britain this year is already more than double last year’s package of more than 70 million euros, which has increased the number of French police patrolling the Channel shores.
“Over the next three years, the UK contribution to this package will be €141 million in 2023-24, €191 million in 2024-25 and €209 million in 2025-6,” the UK government said.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)