Reform UK has insisted that its deal with France’s far-right National Rally to send migrants back across the Channel was fully approved by the party and signed off by its president, Jordan Bardella, despite a fierce backlash in France.
The agreement, unveiled on Friday between Nigel Farage and Bardella—the 30-year-old protégé of presidential candidate Marine Le Pen—appeared to directly contradict Le Pen’s long-standing policy of refusing to accept the return of those who arrive in the UK via small boats from France.
On Monday, Le Pen was pressed by journalists from France TV, the state broadcaster, on her position. She declined to comment, saying she would address the issue soon, but at a time of her choosing.
In 2021, Le Pen said she wanted border agreements rewritten so the UK could specifically send people arriving by boat back to their countries of origin, rather than returning them to France.
Since the agreement, Bardella has faced criticism from political parties in France for signing the deal. Benjamin Haddad, the Europe minister, accused Bardella of “submission” that was “against our interests and sovereignty.”
Some French media have questioned whether Bardella was misled by Reform, wondering if the French translation accurately conveyed Farage’s meaning that the National Rally (RN) was willing to accept any migrants who cross by small boat.
However, a Reform spokesperson said it was “signed off by both Bardella and the presidential team,” that the policy was included in both the French and English versions, and that they could “confirm both parties are fully on board.”
Until the summer, Bardella was seen as a potential replacement for Le Pen in next spring’s presidential election, but he will now run as her future prime minister. In July, when a Paris appeal court upheld Le Pen’s conviction for embezzling European parliament funds, her ban from running for office was reduced, allowing her to stand.
Farage has kept Le Pen at a distance while building good relations with Bardella over the past year, but he is rumored to be planning to meet her later in the autumn.
He previously rejected the idea of a partnership in 2014 in the European parliament, when he accused Le Pen’s party of having a history of “prejudice and antisemitism,” which she called slander. Last week, Farage said he would not have made a deal with the party when it was led by Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine’s father, a convicted Holocaust denier who co-founded the Front National in 1972. Le Pen expelled her father from the party in 2015. Farage praised her for getting rid of “extreme elements.”
At the heart of the dispute in France is the wording of the document Farage brought out for Bardella to sign with him on stage in Birmingham, calling it a memorandum of understanding.
Both texts, presented side by side in English and French, state that if Farage and Bardella become prime ministers of their respective countries, the UK will intercept boats launched from the French coast, and France will return people on board to their countries of origin.
But the English text included an extra phrase saying “France will ordinarily accept these persons,” who would then be returned to their home country. This appeared to show Bardella was promising to accept returned persons in France, which contradicts the RN’s long-held position.
France TV said RN denied any controversy, claiming the text was only a declaration of intention that would be refined later. Speaking in Italy over the weekend, Bardella suggested his party in government would prevent migrants from reaching France through much tougher border controls, resulting in far fewer people crossing to the UK.
However, RN’s opponents criticized Bardella for signing a memorandum on immigration on stage with Farage.
MP Sacha Houlié, an ally of the center-left would-be presidential candidate Raphael Glucksmann, wrote on X about what he called “a miserable episode where the whole of France could see Mr BardellaUsed as a doormat by the English far-right.” He told the RN: “You claim to be patriots, but you’re cowards.”
Gabriel Attal, the former centrist prime minister and presidential candidate, wrote on X: “To applause from his party members, Nigel Farage got Jordan Bardella to sign a memorandum ensuring that all migrants intercepted in the Channel are sent back to France. Either Jordan Bardella doesn’t understand English, or he is shamefully weak when it comes to defending French interests. And I think he does understand English.”
Édouard Philippe, a former prime minister and centre-right candidate, called it an example of hypocrisy and division within Bardella’s party. Philippe said it seemed Bardella struggled to stand up to Farage in order to “protect French interests.”
Xavier Bertrand, the right-wing leader of the northern Hauts-de-France region, wrote on X that by agreeing France alone would handle returning people to their home countries, Bardella was “reducing France to the status of Britain’s subcontractor.”
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said: “Reform UK’s deal with Jordan Bardella is a complete farce… Time and again, Reform prove they are fundamentally unserious, making grand claims for the cameras, with none of the detail or hard work that might survive actual scrutiny.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs regarding the reported agreement between Reform UK and Frances National Rally on migration policy following the backlash in France
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is the Reform party and the National Rally
Reform UK is a rightwing political party in the United Kingdom led by Nigel Farage The National Rally is a farright political party in France led by Marine Le Pen They are both considered part of the broader European populist right
2 What exactly did they agree on regarding migrants
Reports suggest they agreed to work together to stop illegal migration across the English Channel and to push for a stricter more national approach to asylum The core idea is that migrants who are denied asylum in one country should not be able to simply move to another and that Western nations should prioritize repatriation over integration
3 Why did this cause a backlash in France
The backlash was because French politicians felt that a British party was trying to dictate or interfere with French sovereignty and border policy Many French officials were offended by the implication that France wasnt doing enough to stop migrant crossings and they rejected the idea of taking orders from a foreign political figure like Nigel Farage
4 Who is Nigel Farage and what is his role in this
Nigel Farage is the leader of Reform UK He is a prominent figure in the Brexit movement and is known for his outspoken views on immigration He is the one who reportedly proposed and pushed for this agreement with the National Rally
5 Does this mean the UK and France have signed a new official treaty
No This is a political agreement between two opposition parties not a legal treaty between the British and French governments It is a pact to cooperate politically if they gain power not a change in current law
IntermediateLevel Questions
6 What is the specific policy they want to change regarding asylum seekers
They agree on the principle of offshoring or thirdcountry processing This means sending asylum seekers to a safe third country while their claims are processed rather than allowing them to stay in the UK or France They also want to end the current system where migrants can claim asylum in the first safe country they reach arguing it encourages dangerous crossings
