Britain Pays France £11.6 Trillion to Prevent Illegal Immigrants

Britain and France have signed a three-year agreement to curb the flow of illegal migration across the English Channel, with London paying Paris £500 million (approximately $673 million or Rp11.6 trillion). The agreement aims to enable French police to halt the movement of illegal migrants, according to the British Home Office. In March, Britain and France reportedly failed to reach a new deal on handling migrants crossing the English Channel and agreed to extend the previous agreement signed in 2023 for two months. “Britain and France today signed an agreement to strengthen operations in combating illegal migration in northern France to prevent crossings to Britain, with significant increases in human resources, technology, and intelligence,” the ministry stated on Thursday (23/4). “In this new partnership, £500 million will be invested to strengthen the surveillance system in northern France,” the ministry’s statement continued. The funding will be used to increase the number of police patrolling the French coast from around 900 personnel to nearly 1,400 by 2029. France will also deploy an Operational Support Group to handle illegal migration, utilising drones, helicopters, and various other equipment. Additionally, a temporary detention centre for migrants to be deported is reported to be built in Dunkirk. London will also allocate an additional £161 million if the project is deemed successful in the future. Throughout 2025, more than 41,000 illegal migrants arrived in Britain by boat via the English Channel. This figure is the second highest after the record in 2022, when more than 45,700 migrants reached British territory. The British government currently spends millions of pounds daily to accommodate asylum seekers in hotels.