April 23 (UPI) -- Britain and France inked a new $894 million agreement Thursday to stop small boats carrying asylum seekers attempting to get to England, which will include deploying riot police on the beaches of northern France.
Signed by British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in Paris, the three-year deal, replacing an agreement from 2023 under the previous Downing Street administration, will see Britain reimburse France for the costs of trying to stop the crossings and comes with the option to withhold as much as $135 million at the end of the first year if targets are not met.
Under the deal, France will boost the number of law enforcement, intelligence and military officers tasked with going after smuggling gangs and intercepting people planning to cross the channel by 40% to almost 1,100.
French authorities will also assign at least 50 specialist "riot and crowd control" police officers to disperse "hostile crowds" and combat violence at locations where attempts to launch boats are underway.
Related
