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UK Agrees Plan With France to Deter Flow of Channel Migrants

  • Sunak pays Macron £63 million to improve beach patrols
  • British officers will embed with French for first time
Migrants board a boat to cross the Channel near Dunkirk, France, in October.

Migrants board a boat to cross the Channel near Dunkirk, France, in October.

Photographer: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images
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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a deal with Emmanuel Macron to raise the number of border officials patrolling the beaches of northern France by 40% in an attempt to disrupt the flow of migrants across the Channel.

France had resisted requests to allow Britain’s Border Force officers to join French patrols because of concerns over sovereignty, but has now agreed to embed UK officials under the new accord. Also under the plans announced by Sunak, there will be greater investment in port security infrastructure, from CCTV to the use of drones and night vision goggles.