Reform migrant return deal faces scrutiny over French approval and sovereignty

Reform UK says its agreement with France’s National Rally to return migrants intercepted crossing the Channel was approved by party leader Jordan Bardella and his presidential team.

The memorandum, unveiled by Nigel Farage and Bardella in Birmingham, proposes that if both become prime ministers, the UK would intercept boats launched from the French coast and France would return those on board to their countries of origin.

The agreement has prompted criticism from French politicians and media, who have questioned whether its wording commits France to accepting returned migrants and whether it protects French interests and sovereignty.

The dispute centres on differences reportedly identified between the English and French texts. The English version includes wording that “France will ordinarily accept these persons” before their return to their home countries. Reform UK says the policy also appears in the French version and that both parties are fully committed to it.

France TV reported that National Rally viewed the document as a declaration of intent to be refined later. The available material does not establish that the memorandum is legally binding or operational, and its proposal is conditional on both leaders entering government.

The agreement also appears to conflict with Marine Le Pen’s longstanding position that people arriving in the UK by small boat should be returned to their countries of origin rather than France.