Thank you for subscribing!

Shabana Mahmood's French counterpart has called for the 'one in, one out' deal to come to an end

France is pushing for Britain to accept asylum seekers from across the EU as part of a new deal to replace the current "one in, one out" agreement.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that Paris wants to end the bilateral arrangement between Britain and France.

Under the French proposal, the existing scheme would instead be replaced by an EU-wide agreement covering all 27 member states.

Britain would be able to return migrants who cross the Channel to Europe, but would be forced to accept asylum seekers with legitimate claims from across the bloc in exchange.

Mr Nunez told a French parliamentary inquiry: "For our part, we want to move away from this bilateral relationship with the UK.

"We consider that France should not have to carry it alone, and that it would be better to integrate it into an agreement between the EU and UK.

"So I have already clearly told my counterpart that this pilot agreement, which we signed in August 2025, was not intended to be renewed beyond October 1, 2026."

Asked whether an EU-wide replacement could be established before the current agreement expires, Mr Nunez added: "There is an action plan, there is interest, but it would be naive of me to tell you there will be a mechanism to bridge the gap."

The intervention puts Paris on a potential collision course with the Government, which wants the current agreement to continue.

Ms Mahmood is pushing to make the arrangement permanent and increase the number of Channel migrants returned to France in an attempt to deter further crossings.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham also appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron to continue the scheme during their first bilateral meeting last week.

Just 1,400 Channel migrants have so far been returned to France under the agreement, with a similar number of asylum seekers brought to Britain in exchange.

Any EU-wide replacement could dramatically expand the number of countries involved in deciding where migrants are returned and from where asylum seekers are accepted.

MIGRANT CRISIS - READ THE LATEST:

Britain previously participated in the EU's Dublin system, which provided rules for determining which European country was responsible for examining an asylum claim.

However, the French proposal faces resistance within Brussels itself.

Southern European countries which receive large numbers of migrants arriving at the bloc's external borders - like Italy or Greece - are believed to be concerned they could shoulder a disproportionate share of people returned from Britain.

The European Commission has indicated it will not agree to the proposal until a compromise between member states can be reached.

There are also divisions within France over whether the existing deal should be abandoned.

French officials are reportedly concerned about the difficulty of deporting migrants returned from Britain to their countries of origin, while France is due to hold a presidential election next year.

However, Mr Macron is thought to be more open to extending the existing agreement than his Interior Minister.

The row comes as Channel crossings have fallen by more than 40 per cent so far this year, while the average number arriving during favourable weather conditions has dropped 38 per cent.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Government’s agreement with France has been extended until autumn.

"This will ensure we will continue to remove migrants who arrive on small boats over the summer."