Emmanuel Macron will demand that Rishi Sunak pay more money to France before the ongoing small boat crisis in the English Channel is resolved.
The French President has insisted that the UK fund more policing along the French coast, where migrants are attempting to reach Britain.
Since 2014, the UK has sent France £232 million, with the most recent transaction taking place in November 2022, when Suella Braverman agreed to send £62 million in exchange for a 40% increase in patrols.
At the upcoming Anglo-French Summit, Macron is expected to make the demand for annual demands.
Rishi Sunak will travel to Paris on Friday and is expected to ask Macron for more assistance in stopping boats from leaving French beaches.
However, Macron is likely to request annual funding to support patrols.
“We’re trying to agree with our British counterparts on a multi-year financing framework that would allow us to better plan our actions and increase our human resources, equipment, and infrastructure,” an Elysée source told the Times.
Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, claimed that the UK government was not getting value for money.
He said: “The British taxpayer has generously subsidised the French police for several years now over which time we have seen a substantial increase in the numbers successfully evading their measures.
“The real issue is that the French police will not arrest those migrants they intercept on the beaches so they are back again the following night with a new boat to try again. They only have to get lucky once.
Earlier this week, the government unveiled its plan to reduce the number of migrants entering the UK through the Channel.
However, in a letter to MPs, Suella Braverman acknowledged that there is a “more (than) 50% chance” that the legislation will be incompatible with the ECHR.