Farage, Bardella sign Channel migrant crossings pact

British hard-right leader Nigel Farage and Jordan Bardella, president of France's far-right National Rally, signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to cooperate on ending small boat migrant crossings if their anti-immigration parties enter government.

The agreement was signed on stage at Reform UK's annual conference in Birmingham. Farage described it as the start of a new “Entente Cordiale” between their parties and countries.

Bardella, speaking in English, said a future National Rally government would do everything in its power to ensure France was no longer a route for irregular migration into the United Kingdom.

The pledge is conditional. Bardella hopes to become France's prime minister if National Rally wins national elections next year, while Britain's next general election is not due until 2029.

Reform UK led national polls in Britain for more than a year until July, but its standing has fallen in recent weeks amid scandals involving allegations of irregular political funding. Britain's Labour government said this week that summer crossings from France to England were at their lowest since 2019, citing an enforcement deal with France.