The British Interior Ministry announced Thursday, August 7, having placed in detention the first migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom on small boats and intended to be sent back to France as part of the Franco-British treaty entered into force on Wednesday.
“People who arrived in the United Kingdom on a boat yesterday noon were put into detention. They will be placed in administrative detention centers pending their expulsion ”said the home office in a statement, without specifying how many migrants had been arrested. According to London, the first evictions to France should take place “In the coming weeks”.
The United Kingdom will transmit to France, within three days, the names of the arrested migrants it wishes to expel, and the French authorities will have fourteen days to answer, details the home office.
“When I promised that I will not stop at nothing to secure our borders, I was serious”welcomed the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under pressure to stem these migrant arrivals.
Principle “of one for one”
The agreement, valid until June 2026 and whose implementation details have not been specified, aims to dissuade people wishing to cross the Channel on precarious boats to do so. Since the beginning of the year, 18 people have died while trying to reach England clandestinely on these small boatsaccording to data from the French Ministry of the Interior.
The treaty is based on a principle of“One for one”. France will take up migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom by small boat and whose asylum request will not be deemed eligible. In the other direction, London will accept people in France and have made a request on an online platform, by giving priority to those with links with the United Kingdom. No official indication was given on the number of migrants concerned. This platform is operational on Thursday on the British government’s website.
A record number of more than 25,400 people have entered the United Kingdom in this way since the start of the year, up 49 % over a year.