France has hit back at British threats to withhold €63 million in funding for French coast guard patrols over failures to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel.
The French Interior Ministry warned the move risked damaging bilateral relations, and could cause a “serious loss of trust”.
"Conditions of the funding were negotiated in detail with the British and it was never a question of conditioning the money to specific targets [of interceptions]," the ministry said in a statement.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is due to hold talks with British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 ministers in London.
Today I welcomed Interior Ministers from the G7 nations to the UK. Throughout this week I will be leading discussions with them on...
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) September 7, 2021
✅ Tackling illegal migration
✅ Counter terrorism
✅ Keeping the public safe online pic.twitter.com/3PfYDnwqla
Ultimatum
Patel has warned that Britain is prepared to pull the promised funds if France fails to stop three in four crossings by the end of September.
However, France said that since January it had prevented more than one in two crossings, amounting to some 10,000 migrants.
British media reports quoted fishermen who said they saw French authorities in the Channel “escorting” boats of migrants towards the UK.
The UK Home Office said 785 people had made the dangerous crossing amid calmer weather conditions on Monday, with French patrols reportedly stopping some 200 migrants.
The deal for Britain to pay France to step up migrant patrols along the French coast, reached in July, also included improved intelligence sharing, more migrant shelters, reinforced air patrols and increased investment on technology to detect the small boats and target those who organise the crossings.
