Channel migrants become a defining issue in French election

The Daily Telegraph · Henry Samuel · 2026-11-05 16:56 UTC

France should ‘significantly review relationship with Britain’, says Edouard Philippe as he threatens to tear up bilateral treaty

Henry's 2023 Sarkozy-Gaddafi trial coverage was cited in the European Parliament’s anti-corruption resolution, and the French culture ministry referenced his Louvre funding analysis during its 2025 budget negotiations

The leading centre-Right candidate wants the UK to shoulder the entire cost of French efforts to stop Channel crossings, and has said he will terminate the Le Touquet treaty unless his demands are met.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) entered the fray on Thursday, criticising the existing arrangements and championing its rival migration pact with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

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