France President Macron criticizes ‘Ineffective’ UK Rwanda deportation law

• Macron criticizes Britain’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as “ineffective” and “cynical.”
• He warns against creating geopolitics of cynicism that betrays European values and builds new dependencies.
• He also suggests France should actively seek similar “partnerships” with fellow EU members.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Britain’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as “ineffective” and displaying “cynicism,” while he praised the defense cooperation between the two countries.

“I don’t believe in the model … which would involve finding third countries on the African continent or elsewhere where we’d send people who arrive on our soil illegally, who don’t come from these countries,” Macron said.

“We’re creating geopolitics of cynicism which betrays our values and will build new dependencies, and which will prove completely ineffective,” he added in a wide-ranging speech on the future of the European Union at Paris’ Sorbonne University.

On Tuesday, British MPs passed a law that allows undocumented asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed, and they would stay if the claims succeed.

The law represents a flagship policy for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, trails the opposition Labour Party in the polls and anticipates an election within months.

Britain pays Paris to support policing of France’s northern coast, to prevent migrants from setting off for perilous crossings in small boats.

An attempted crossing on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of five people, including one child, bringing the toll on the route so far this year to 15 — surpassing the 12 deaths recorded in 2023.

But Macron warmly praised London when he commended the bilateral military cooperation between the two NATO allies, which endured through the contentious years of Britain’s departure from the EU.

“The British are deep natural allies (for France), and the treaties that bind us together … lay a solid foundation,” he said.

“We have to follow them up and strengthen them because Brexit has not affected this relationship,” Macron added.

The president also stated that France should seek similar “partnerships” with fellow EU members.