French politicians seek border deal changes after Brexit vote

The mayor of Calais wants changes to a deal which allows Britain to carry out immigration checks on the French side of the English Channel, after a United Kingdom vote to leave the EU.

However, Mr Macron, who is the Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs and may be considering a presidential bid next year, four months ago warned: “The day this relationship unravels, migrants will no longer be in Calais”.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, campaigning against the Brexit, was accused of scaremongering when he warned in February that it could mean British border checks being removed from Calais.

“But the border is where it is… there are bilateral agreements that are very important…” said French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, this Friday when asked about the possibility of ending Le Touquet.

The agreement allows for the stationing of British border security at northern French ferry terminals.

“The British must take the consequences of their choice”, mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart said.

Bouchart stressed that the deal required negotiation due to Brexit referendum results, saying “there must be an element of division, of sharing”.

An influential French government minister has added his voice to calls for Paris to renounce the Franco-British treaty that blocks migrants from crossing the Channel.

Her demand was echoed by the centre-right president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, who tweeted: “The English wanted to take back their freedom, they must take back their border”.

Britain’s European Union membership should not, in theory, have any effect on the Le Touquet accord.

It effectively places part of Britain’s border with France in the French port.

“The history of this border is not as simple as people like to think”, she said.

More than 214,860 asylum seekers have reached Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year, while 2,860 people died or went missing in their perilous journey to the continent, according to the latest figures by the International Organization of Migration.