London and Paris unveiled a "pilot" program for returning some of the migrants arriving in the United Kingdom by small boats across the English Channel to France at the end of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the agreement reached during Macron's three-day visit as "revolutionary" and capable of stopping the record number of people who have embarked on the dangerous journey so far this year.

"It's revolutionary because it's a scheme that aims to change the model and make it clear that if you cross the English Channel in a small boat, you will end up back where you started," he said at a joint press conference with Macron.

"In exchange for each return, another person will be allowed to come here" safely, Starmer said. He added that the scheme would start within "the next few weeks," AFP reported.

Although Starmer did not specify how many people could be returned to France, media reports suggest that initially the number could be around 50 people per week.

In comments likely to anger pro-Brexit groups, Macron said Britain's exit from the EU in 2020 had worsened the situation in the English Channel by disrupting legal migration routes and access to the bloc's own return agreements.

"So for people who want to cross, there is no legal way, nor is there a way to be returned after crossing. This is a factor that pushes them to try to cross — exactly the opposite effect of what Brexit promised," Macron said. | BGNES

UK and France unveil program to return migrants across the English Channel

London and Paris unveiled a "pilot" program for returning some of the migrants arriving in the United Kingdom by small boats across the English Channel to France at the end of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the agreement reached during Macron's three-day visit as "revolutionary" and capable of stopping the record number of people who have embarked on the dangerous journey so far this year.

"It's revolutionary because it's a scheme that aims to change the model and make it clear that if you cross the English Channel in a small boat, you will end up back where you started," he said at a joint press conference with Macron.

"In exchange for each return, another person will be allowed to come here" safely, Starmer said. He added that the scheme would start within "the next few weeks," AFP reported.

Although Starmer did not specify how many people could be returned to France, media reports suggest that initially the number could be around 50 people per week.

In comments likely to anger pro-Brexit groups, Macron said Britain's exit from the EU in 2020 had worsened the situation in the English Channel by disrupting legal migration routes and access to the bloc's own return agreements.

"So for people who want to cross, there is no legal way, nor is there a way to be returned after crossing. This is a factor that pushes them to try to cross — exactly the opposite effect of what Brexit promised," Macron said. | BGNES