The United Kingdom made every effort to extend the pilot agreement, known in France as "un pour un" and across the Channel as "one in, one out." Signed with France in July 2025, it was set to expire on October 1. The new Labour prime minister, Andy Burnham, again urged for the program to continue during his early September meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in London. Paris, in contrast, was eager to end this cooperation over migration control. According to our information, the pilot program will indeed come to an end. "We are discussing with the British the terms of exiting the agreement," the French Interior Ministry confirmed to Le Monde.

Concerned about the ongoing rise since 2018 in irregular Channel crossings in small boats, the British government convinced France in 2025 to sign the agreement, which was based on a novel exchange mechanism between the two countries. Under the deal, for each person sent back to France after arriving in the UK by small boat, London would admit an asylum seeker from France through a legal route.

Such an agreement created a precedent, as it established for the first time the principle of returning to France migrants turned away from the UK. Despite repeated British requests, France had consistently refused such deals until Bruno Retailleau took office as interior minister in September 2024. By highlighting the supposed deterrent effect for migrants facing the risk of being sent back to France, the British government won over the current Les Républicains presidential candidate. You have 70.26% of this article left to read. The rest is forrs only.