France's National Rally would stop migrants reaching UK, says Bardella

• Jordan Bardella, president of France's National Rally party, vowed to stop migrants from reaching the UK if elected in 2027.
• Bardella plans to tighten border controls and return migrants to their countries of origin.
• French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad accused the National Rally of hypocrisy on migration policy.
• Haddad stated the National Rally opposed EU migration control efforts but later supported them.
• Bardella proposed allowing Britain to 'push back' small boats carrying migrants across the Channel.

Jordan Bardella, president of France's far-right National Rally party, has stated that if his party gains power in 2027, it will implement policies to prevent migrants from reaching the United Kingdom. Speaking at the Reform UK party conference, Bardella pledged to tighten border controls, facilitate the return of migrants to their countries of origin, and stop small boats from departing French coasts for England.

Bardella's proposals include rewriting French border policy to allow Britain to 'push back' small boats crossing the English Channel and supporting existing Franco-British patrols. He criticized the current 'one-in-one-out' policy as a 'smokescreen' and suggested that joint patrols would become less necessary with revised French and European migration rules.

In response, French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad, a loyalist of President Emmanuel Macron, called the National Rally's migration stance a 'big fraud.' Haddad accused the party of opposing EU efforts to control migration until it became politically advantageous, citing their past opposition to the EU's Returns Regulation before ultimately voting in favor of it in the European Parliament. Haddad also noted that France was skeptical of 'return hubs' outside the EU for deporting migrants, preferring to select asylum seekers at the EU's external borders.