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PoliticsFrance's Bardella signs symbolic migrant deal with UK's Farage, drawing cross-party backlash
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On September 4, 2026, French far-right National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella signed a symbolic agreement with British Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in Birmingham, UK, proposing to intercept migrants trying to reach the UK and send those intercepted in British waters back to France. The agreement drew sharp criticism from French presidential candidates across the political spectrum. Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France Insoumise) called the proposal 'wretched,' accusing Bardella of promising to take back people the 'English fascists' want to expel. Centrist candidates Edouard Philippe (Horizons) and Gabriel Attal criticized the move as submissive foreign policy. Bardella defended the protocol on BFM-TV, claiming it aims to stop illegal immigration in France rather than push migrants back onto French shores. RN MP Edwige Diaz said migrants would be brought to France for detention pending expulsion, and RN MP Laurent Jacobelli stated costs would be shared equally between Paris and London. Notably, Marine Le Pen remained silent on the issue, amid other dissonances between the two RN leaders. The controversy highlights tensions around immigration policy ahead of the French presidential election.
Source report
Nigel Farage, leader of the British party Reform UK, and Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on September 4, 2026. TEMILADE ADELAJA / REUTERS
Mélenchon Leads Criticism
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the La France Insoumise candidate for the presidential election, on Saturday, August 5, denounced Jordan Bardella's proposal to intercept migrants attempting to reach the United Kingdom, calling it "wretched." The proposal is part of a symbolic agreement signed on Friday by the National Rally president with Nigel Farage, a key figure of Brexit. One provision calls for sending illegal migrants intercepted in British waters back to France.
"Without anyone asking him, [Jordan Bardella] promises the English fascists that the French will take back the people they want to throw out, and then we will also take care of expelling them from our country," Mélenchon said during a rally-style speech before several thousand people at the Lille braderie.
Centrist Candidates Weigh In
Edouard Philippe, the Horizons presidential candidate, remarked: "One wonders if Madame Le Pen is on the same line."
Gabriel Attal, another candidate from the central bloc, criticized the agreement while visiting the Lille braderie on Saturday, calling it "illustrative of their foreign policy, which is one of great submission to other powers."
Bardella Defends the Protocol
Pressed to clarify the controversy, Bardella sought to downplay the criticism on BFM-TV:
"The protocol does not provide for us to let migrants cross and for these migrants to be rejected or pushed back onto French coasts. This protocol provides for stopping illegal immigration in France."
He also mocked Attal and Philippe as "die-hard immigrationists" who have "no lessons in immigration management to give us."
Party Executives Struggle to Justify
The proposal, initialed by Bardella, has proven difficult to defend for party executives who have made fighting illegal immigration a central tenet.
- RN MP Edwige Diaz accused opponents of "inventing controversies," assuring on BFM-TV that migrants would be brought back to France to be "placed in detention pending their expulsion."
- RN MP Laurent Jacobelli added on Franceinfo that expenses related to the fictitious protocol would be "equitably shared" between Paris and London.
Silence from Marine Le Pen
At the heart of a back-to-school period marked by several dissonances between the two party leaders, Marine Le Pen remained silent on the subject, leaving her potential future prime minister to respond alone to the controversy.
Le Monde with AFP
Source
Politique : Toute l’actualité sur Le Monde.fr.Western
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