Reform UK says Bardella approved migration memorandum
As The Guardian reports, Reform UK in the United Kingdom said that a memorandum on returning migrants across the English Channel was agreed by Jordan Bardella, president of France’s National Rally, and the party’s presidential team. The document, which Nigel Farage and Bardella signed on stage at a party conference in Birmingham, drew criticism in France.
According to a Reform UK spokesperson, the provision on migrants is included in both the English and French versions of the memorandum, and both parties fully support the agreement. The deal was presented last Friday.
Differences in the texts
Both versions of the document provide that, should Farage and Bardella be appointed prime ministers of their countries, the United Kingdom would intercept boats departing from the French coast. France, in turn, would return the people on board to their countries of origin.
At the same time, the English version contains an additional phrase stating that France would “normally receive these individuals” before their return to their countries of origin. According to the publication, this contradicts the National Rally’s long-standing position, as it had refused to support the return to France of people who reached the United Kingdom in small boats.
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Some French media questioned whether the French translation accurately conveyed the meaning of the wording which, in Farage’s view, meant that the National Rally was ready to accept such migrants back. France TV reported that Bardella’s party denied the existence of a dispute and described the memorandum as a declaration of intent that would be clarified further.
Criticism in France
France’s Minister for Europe Benjamin Haddad called the signing of the document an act of “submission” which, he said, runs counter to the country’s interests and sovereignty. Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that the memorandum was intended to ensure the return to France of migrants intercepted in the English Channel.
Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe also criticised Bardella, saying that he had allegedly failed to stand up to Farage to protect French interests. Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, said that assigning France responsibility for returning people to their countries of origin turns it into a “subcontractor” of the United Kingdom.
