PARIS — French presidential candidates from the far left to the far right are blasting the memorandum of understanding on stopping migration across the English Channel that National Rally President Jordan Bardella signed with Reform U.K.’s Nigel Farage on Friday.
Critics of the deal, which says in English that France “will ordinarily accept” migrants intercepted in the English Channel and sent back to French shores, accused the far-right MEP of attempting to cede French sovereignty on immigration matters. The pact only goes into effect if Reform UK and the National Rally take power in the United Kingdom and France, respectively.
On X, Xavier Bertrand, the conservative president of the Hauts-de-France region that includes some of the most well-known launch points for the so-called “small boats” trying to reach the U.K. from France, accused Bardella of “bowing down” to Farage and wanting to make France the U.K.’s “subcontractor” on border enforcement.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leading left-wing candidate for next year’s election, also said Bardella would turn France into a “gatekeeper” for the U.K. “This wasn’t France speaking, it was a fascist with no reputation and no standing,” he added during a campaign rally on Saturday.
Gabriel Attal, the leader of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, said Bardella “either doesn’t understand English, or is shockingly weak when it comes to defending French interests.”
Edouard Philippe, the leading center-right candidate in the race, also mocked the Bardella-Farage agreement.
“We didn’t see that one coming,” he said on X.
Even the National Rally’s competitors on the far right called out the accord.
“Jordan Bardella agrees to take in foreigners on our soil whom Great Britain does not want,” said Eric Zemmour, the leader of the anti-immigrant party Reconquest. “Having allies must NEVER come at any price — especially not at the expense of the integrity of our borders and our people.”
Noticeably silent was National Rally presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen. The French far-right duo has struggled to find its footing since a court in July shortened Le Pen’s sentence for embezzlement of EU funds, allowing her to run. Bardella had previously been expected to be the party’s candidate in next year’s election.
Last month, Farage announced that, if elected, he would launch the “largest military operation in the English Channel since World War II” to intercept small boats and return migrants to French shores. But a person close to Le Pen, speaking to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, raised doubts about the plan.
“Why [send them back] to France if they aren’t French?” said the individual.
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Politics makes strange bedfellows. Jordan Bardella from France’s National Rally recently signed a MoU at the recent Reform UK conference with Nigel Farage. In this Bardella agreed that France would take back immigrants crossing from France to the UK, should both parties come to power.
This has been denounced by many major figures in France across the political spectrum, such as Mélenchon/Attal/Philippe/Zemour, for failing to uphold French interests and making France responsible for additional migrants.