Sleeve | Sunak and Macron want to cooperate better against illegal crossings

(London) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron in their first phone call on Friday to cooperate more against illegal Channel crossings, Downing Street said.

After tensions under his predecessor Liz Truss, the brand new British Conservative leader took advantage of this call to “underline the importance of the relationship between the United Kingdom and France, neighbor and ally” and said “looking forward” to a bilateral summit next year, his spokesman said in a statement.

He also addressed the subject of illegal Channel crossings, which are constantly increasing and at the heart of regular tensions between Paris and London.

“The Prime Minister underlined the importance for both countries of making the Channel route completely impassable for human traffickers. The leaders pledged to deepen their partnership to deter deadly Channel crossings that benefit organized criminals,” according to Downing Street.

The report of the French presidency does not mention this subject, simply indicating the “availability” of Emmanuel Macron to “deepen the bilateral relationship between France and the United Kingdom, particularly in the fields of defence, business strategies and energy”.

The two countries have already agreed that the British government will financially help the French authorities to better monitor the French coasts to prevent departures.

But according to the newspaper The TimesRishi Sunak wants to go further and wants a global agreement with quantified targets of intercepted boats and British border police officers patrolling France.

He also wants to set targets for 80% of asylum applications to be processed within six months, against an average of 480 days, but also to tighten the conditions for granting asylum.

More than 38,000 migrants have made the very dangerous Channel crossing in makeshift boats since the start of the year, more than in all of last year, which was already a record high.

According to the British authorities, up to 80% of these new migrants are now Albanians.

The UK asylum system is completely overwhelmed by this influx.

“constructive” approach

Rishi Sunak, himself the grandson of Indian immigrants, has taken a very tough stance on immigration. He backs previous Conservative governments’ controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which is still pending judicial review.

He also appointed the ultra-conservative Suella Braverman to the interior ministry, a decision interpreted as a gesture towards the right wing of the conservative party.

In contrast to previous governments, very virulent towards France, accused of not doing enough, the new executive has adopted a more conciliatory tone.

Secretary of State for Immigration Robert Jenrick said this week that he wants a more “constructive” relationship with Paris, in particular to take joint action with the Albanian authorities.

Rishi Sunak’s arrival in Downing Street comes following a tense period in Franco-British relations under Liz Truss, prime minister for 49 days.

Campaigning for Downing Street, Liz Truss refused to say whether Emmanuel Macron was a “friend” or an “enemy”. “The jury is still deliberating,” she said.

The British press had claimed that these remarks had prevented the signing of a bilateral agreement on immigration this summer.

Since then, the ephemeral Prime Minister had calmed things down, assuring in early October in Prague, during the first summit of the European Political Community, that the French leader was indeed “a friend”.