Arya News - Britain will be allowed to push small boats carrying migrants back into French waters under immigration plans put forward by Jordan Bardella, the man tipped to become France’s next president.
Britain will be allowed to push small boats carrying migrants back into French waters under immigration plans put forward by Jordan Bardella, the man tipped to become France’s next president.
In an interview with The Telegraph , Mr Bardella, the 30-year-old leader of the National Rally party, said he would rewrite French border policy to help the UK tackle the small boat crisis in the Channel.
Mr Bardella backed joint Franco-British patrols and pledged to allow UK Border Force to carry out “pushbacks” in the Channel – a tactic successive British governments have explored but been unable to deploy because France has refused to accept returned vessels.
He also called the Sir Keir Starmer-Emmanuel Macron “one-in-one-out” migrant swap a political “smokescreen”, and declared that Nigel Farage “will be the next prime minister” after meeting the Reform UK leader for the first time at a private lunch in London on Tuesday.
Mr Bardella argued that France must allow partners to apply the same principles that it demands for itself.
“NGOs funded by public money go and pick up boats 20 kilometres off the Tunisian or Libyan coast and then Frontex [the European border and coast guard agency] takes them. I’m against this, so I have to be consistent with my principles. I can’t defend the notion of pushbacks and then refuse to allow Great Britain to do the same,” he said.
Although pushbacks are controversial and widely criticised by maritime lawyers and human rights groups, Mr Bardella insisted the issue would fade once he implemented what he called a “double border system” on French and EU frontiers, designed to stop migrants before they reach the Channel .
He added that he supported “Franco-British patrols ”, but said these would be less necessary once he had overhauled French and European migration rules.
Mr Bardella is the runaway favourite to reach the second round of the 2027 presidential elections.
He is predicted to take about 35 to 37 per cent of the vote, well ahead of his nearest rival, and could even outperform Marine Le Pen should her five-year electoral ban be lifted next spring.
‘Farage and I must prepare to govern’
Mr Bardella and Mr Farage met to discuss what the Frenchman described as preparations for governing. “We came to the conclusion that we must prepare our political movements to exercise power and that it is possible we will do so at the same time,” he said.
The National Rally leader praised Mr Farage as “a pioneer” who fought for Britain’s independence. He pledged to reform the EU from within, turning it into a looser alliance of sovereign states that could one day welcome Britain back.
His intervention comes as Channel crossings continue to rise . Between January and December this year, 39,292 people crossed from France to Britain in small boats, a 16 per cent increase on the previous year.
Small boat arrivals have been the most common method of illegal entry into the UK since 2020 and nearly all who arrive claim asylum , allowing them to remain while their cases are assessed.
Earlier this year, Sir Keir signed the “one-in, one-out” agreement with France, under which Britain returns illegal arrivals in exchange for accepting a matching number of legitimate asylum seekers.
But crossings have continued, fuelling criticism that the deal has failed to deter people-smugglers . Other deterrence attempts have likewise had little effect.
Mr Bardella called the “one-in, one-out” plan “a sticking plaster”, adding: “I think it’s a smokescreen and that the ship is leaking from all sides and we’re putting tape over the holes.”
He argued that only a complete redesign of French immigration policy would stem crossings. His programme includes relocating asylum processing to embassies and consulates abroad, “the systematic expulsion of foreign offenders and criminals”, and giving French citizens “priority access to social housing and social assistance”.
He believes these measures would make France “the least attractive country for mass immigration in Europe” and close the Calais route entirely.
His remarks come amid growing concern about the criminal networks driving Channel migration. A Telegraph investigation this week found that smugglers in northern France are offering migrants free or discounted crossings if they agree to swallow packets of Class A drugs.
Recordings also showed networks encouraging migrants, once placed in Home Office hotels, to deliver drugs to UK dealers.
A second Telegraph report exposed how smugglers in Calais and Dunkirk are coercing vulnerable female migrants into sex.
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