The strategy implemented at the France-UK border, reinforced by the expansion of dangerous interceptions at sea, traps thousands of women, men and children in a cycle of violence, deprivation and misery in France. Every day, MSF medical and mental health teams in Calais and Dunkirk witness the significant physical and psychological consequences resulting from these policies on people on the move. \u200b \u200b
“This agreement is another cog in a machinery of brutality that does not deter people from trying to cross the Channel on unseaworthy boats. It forces them to make increasingly dangerous journeys, with departure points far away, some as far as the Belgian coast, which make the crossing even longer and more perilous,” says Michaël Neuman, Migration Programme Manager for MSF in France.
Liz Harding, Humanitarian Representative for MSF in the UK, says: “More policing, more patrols, more equipment, more interceptions - and now ‘payment by results’ funding. Between this deal and the last, the UK government will have spent over £1 billion on measures that deliberately inflict harm and endanger lives. It is time to face reality: these resources should support safe and accessible pathways and dignified reception conditions.”
MSF has repeatedly denounced the harmful impact of migration policies implemented by France and the UK, including financial deals and the “One in One out” agreement, which trades returns for limited legal pathways while failing to provide safe and sustainable access to protection.
These measures do not stop people from seeking sanctuary in the UK, nor do they reduce loss of life. Instead, they drive men, women and children into the hands of smugglers and traffickers and force them to undertake increasingly dangerous – sometimes fatal - journeys across the Channel. More than 110 people have died crossing the Channel since the last funding agreement was signed in March 2023.
CONTACTS
Emma Dixon, Head of Media, MSF UK, +44 207 067 4236, media@london.msf.org
Méryl Sotty, Communications Advisor, MSF France, + 33 (0)6 45 41 93 86, meryl.sotty@paris.msf.org
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NOTE TO EDITORS
The latest UK-France financial agreement builds on the previous three-year deal signed in March 2023, worth around £475 million (approximately €541 million1) which effectively outsources UK border controls to France in exchange for substantial financial support. \u200b
In 2025 alone, MSF teams carried out 1,634 medical consultations, and 317 psychological consultations. Among those treated, 321 were children, including those travelling with families and unaccompanied minors.
A recent joint investigation by the ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures (University of Bristol) and Border Forensics (Geneva) shows that UK policies and over £625 million provided to French authorities to prevent departures are associated with an increase in deaths at the Channel. According to available data, since 2023 to date, at least 158 people lost their lives trying to cross the France-UK border, among them 125 men, women, and children died attempting the dangerous crossing of the Channel.
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1 https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9681/
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