French minister pushes back on UK Channel border deal with new demands

In a high-stakes move Bruno Retailleau‚ Frances interior minister made it clear that the UK-France border deal needs big changes. During his first-ever trip to Calais (which happened on 11/29/24) he pointed out that France wont just be UKs border guard anymore

The current setup includes a 478-million-pound deal from UK to help France watch its borders but Retailleau thinks its not enough; more money wont fix everything. France plans to add 175 officers to their current 800-person border force in the north – yet theres a bigger issue at hand

This year alone 72 people lost their lives trying to cross the Channel in small boats which is just unacceptable. The minister wants to meet with Yvette Cooper (his UK counterpart) on Dec 9th in northern France: then theres gonna be a bigger meeting in London with other EU countries like Belgium Germany and Netherlands

The Le Touquet deal from 04 lets British officers check people in France but Retailleau says this whole system is broken now. He wants a new deal that includes legal ways to reach Britain and better ways to send illegal migrants back to EU countries; if we dont get this – there might be trouble with the agreement

Brexit messed up all the old ways people could move between countries legally by air sea or rail. The EU didnt want a big migration deal during Brexit talks (17-21) but now with France and Germany pushing for it – things might change. The minister says heʼs ready for an arm-wrestle if needed to make this happen