Reform UK and France’s National Rally have signed a formal memorandum of understanding on illegal Channel migration, setting out how the two parties say they would work together to stop small-boat crossings if they enter government.
Nigel Farage and National Rally president Jordan Bardella signed the agreement on stage at Reform UK’s annual conference in Birmingham on Friday.
The pact would commit a National Rally-led French government to accept the return of migrants who had launched from French shores, entered British territorial waters and were then intercepted and returned by the UK.
France would then seek to return those migrants to their countries of origin, while both sides would strengthen border enforcement and establish a mechanism for sharing the costs of security operations.
Farage and Bardella sign ‘Entente Cordiale’
Farage presented the memorandum as the beginning of a new “Entente Cordiale” between the two parties.
He described the agreement as “momentous” and said it showed Reform UK and National Rally were serious about stopping illegal migration, strengthening border controls and ending small-boat crossings.
Bardella described the pact as the beginning of closer cooperation between the parties.
Earlier in his conference speech, he said that if National Rally took power in France it would seek to stop the country being used as a departure point for migrants attempting to reach Britain illegally.
Agreement depends on both parties winning power
The memorandum is a party-to-party political agreement rather than a treaty between the British and French governments.
It would only become government policy if Reform UK and National Rally were both able to implement it after entering office in their respective countries.
National Rally is currently in opposition in France, while Reform UK is not the governing party in Britain.
The French presidential election is due in 2027, while the next UK general election is due by 2029 unless one is called earlier.
Returns to France at centre of plan
The central commitment is that a future National Rally-led French government would accept migrants returned from the Channel after departing from French territory.
Under the plan described by the parties, Britain would intercept boats that had evaded French enforcement and return those on board to France. French authorities would then seek to repatriate them to their countries of origin.
The memorandum also envisages tighter border controls on both sides of the Channel and a mechanism for sharing the financial burden of enforcement.
Politically significant but not yet government policy
The signing gives Reform UK and National Rally a formal framework for cooperation on one of the most politically sensitive issues facing both countries.
However, the memorandum does not alter existing UK or French law and creates no immediate legal obligation on either government.
Its significance is political: it sets out in advance the approach the two parties say they would pursue if they were simultaneously in power.