Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally (RN) party, and Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, have signed a pact to return illegal migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats to France.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: National Rally (RN) president Jordan Bardella and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage signed an agreement to return illegal migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and mega-dinghies back to France. The memorandum of understanding was signed at Reform’s party conference in Birmingham, England, outlining plans to detain and deport migrants arriving from France without allowing them to claim asylum. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “This is a momentous agreement and shows that both Reform UK and the National Rally are serious about stopping the illegal migrant invasion, fixing our borders, and putting our own people first.” – Nigel Farage 💬 SECONDARY QUOTE: “For decades, Nigel has fought for the independence of his country and for its identity… He has faced attacks, mockery, and caricatures. A hundred times, they told him he was wrong. And a hundred times, events proved him right! … [F]or us French, Nigel has a quality that has become far too rare in politics. He has brought two words back to the heart of British politics, two words your leaders had almost forgotten: Common sense!” – Jordan Bardella 🎯 IMPACT: The agreement aims to strengthen border control and reduce illegal immigration by ensuring migrants are returned to France and subsequently repatriated to their home countries. Successive left-wing and so-called centrist French leaders have allowed the Channel crisis to continue without accepting returns, likely in the belief that it reduces the number of illegal migrants in France. However, RN under Bardella and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen believe that accepting deportations from Britain is in France’s best interest, as it will discourage migrants from entering their country and occupying its coasts in hopes of eventually continuing on to Britain in the first place. 📰 DETAIL: The agreement stipulates that Britain will intercept migrant boats traveling from French shores and return the migrants to France, where they will be repatriated according to French law. Bardella told the conference in Birmingham, “I make you this promise: If the French people bring us to power in 2027, with the Rassemblement National [National Rally] and Marine Le Pen, our government will do everything in its power to ensure that France is no longer the gateway for illegal immigration into the United Kingdom. And we say this clearly: The destination of illegal migrants entering France should not be the United Kingdom. They should be returned to their countries of origin.” Le Pen is currently the strong favorite to win 2027’s French presidential elections, with Bardella her likely choice of Prime Minister following legislative elections later the same year. |
A huge moment in Birmingham just now as Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage and National Rally President Jordan Bardella have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the main stage of the Reform UK 2026 National Conference in Birmingham to put an end to the illegal… pic.twitter.com/fgD9fEIqzj
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) September 4, 2026
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.