The final proof of how Macron took Starmer for a (boat) ride with his illegal migrants

Macron deports only 6,400 of his illegal migrants, BUT sends nearly 7 TIMES that number to England

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2025

Our shocking exposé reveals how UK’s 43,000 illegal boat migrants made a big dent in Macron’s problems

Part II of a devastating two-part report on the EU's and French dimensions to the UK’s migrant crisis

In Part I of this two-part series we and Stand for Our Sovereignty revealed the situation in the EU as a whole, and showed why the number of illegal migrants coming to the UK is unlikely to fall anytime soon. That report was covered in association with GB News and you can read what they wrote here.

In this second and final part today, following a detailed investigation of the immigration data from the both the British and French official statistics agencies, Brexit Facts4EU and Stand for Our Sovereignty can reveal perhaps the most shocking information yet published on the seven-year-long escalating crisis of the UK’s problem with illegal boat migrants crossing the English Channel. Once again we have given exclusivity to GB News and we recommend reading their report on this here.

Sir Keir Starmer isn’t the only western leader who has an illegal immigration problem. Unlike Prime Minister Starmer, however, President Macron has a major advantage he can deploy. And whilst this is an advantage for Emmanuel Macron, it has the direct and polar opposite effect for Sir Keir Starmer.

During the period of British PM’s first 12 months in power, Macron’s France issued 132,750 deportation orders to its illegal migrants. Out of this enormous number it was only able to effect 6,395 actual enforced returns to third countries; a ‘third country’ being the migrant’s home country or a different one. This represents just 4.8% of the total.

In that same 12 month period, France was able to send – or allow to be sent - nearly seven times as many migrants across the ‘illegal channel’ to England as he was able to deport to all other countries combined, via the legal channel of deportation.

1. Migrants leaving France for the UK, versus migrants being forced to leave for all other countries combined

2. Small boat returns from the UK have fallen in the latest 12 months to end-June 2025

3. How did the UK do in comparison with France? PLUS UK ‘deportations’ by nationality

Unlike in EU countries, the Home Office does not report on the numbers of migrants ordered to leave, only on the numbers deported. In this section we look at deportations overall, for all migrants, and deportations of small boat migrants only.

In the UK, Albanian nationals were the most common nationality of all enforced returns over the last 4 years and accounted for 28% (2,562) in the latest 12 months. Enforced returns of Albanian nationals increased following the signing of the UK Albanian Joint Communique in December 2022, which was a response to the substantial numbers of Albanian small boat arrivals in 2022.

Enforced returns of other prominent nationalities, however, have increased, with numbers of Romanians up 28% (1,696), Brazilians up 90% (861) and Indians having more than doubled (615) over the same period. There has also been a substantial rise in the latest year of returns of Polish nationals.

4. Deportation orders from France versus actual deportations

The simple fact is that the majority of those subject to deportation orders do not leave. Below we show the latest figures for France, for Q3 2024 – Q2 2025 (01 Jul 2024 – 30 Jun 2025), which represents the first 12 months of the Starmer government barring the first six days.

5. When is a deportation not a deportation?

For most people, a ‘deportation’ means someone physically being deported from a country. It does not mean someone leaving voluntarily. Those who do leave voluntarily often do so with generous financial assistance from the State and it is not possible to say how many were intending to leave anyway, and for whom the financial incentive merely accelerated their decision. For those who leave without assistance, the State generally does not even know they have left.

This year, government ministers in both France and the UK have quoted figures which are misleading, as they include those who have departed voluntarily, generally with financial assistance. In this report Brexit Facts4EU.Org continues to use the figures for enforced deportations.

6. The illegal immigration problem in France

In France, deportations fall under what is called the Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français (OQTF) – the Obligation to Leave French Territory. There are naturally differences and variations for individual circumstances and what follows is a summary. In outline, the Prefect of Police of the region issues the notice to a migrant, which either gives 30 days’ notice to leave or it is of the immediate variety. If 30 days’ notice is given, the migrant must leave in that time (with or without state assistance) or be placed in a detention camp.

As in the UK with asylum claims being rejected, the process is subject to legal challenge and is more complex than indicated above. In particular, assuming the migrant does not voluntarily depart, the State must obtain a ‘consular pass’ from their country of origin. This document certifies the individual's nationality and authorises their entry. Without this pass, deportation cannot take place. It is also the case that the EU’s ‘Dublin Agreement’ requires the migrant to have any case for asylum to be heard in the EU country they first entered. In practice this system generally does not work.

7. How Sir Keir and his Government have ‘misled’ the British public

Despite the Government claiming impressive-sounding numbers of deportations, the reality is different, as we have reported before and have shown above. At the end of March this year, Sir Keir Starmer addressed an ‘international summit’ he called in London on tackling people-smuggling, saying:

"We've returned more than 24,000 people who have no right to be here. That would have taken the Rwanda scheme 80 years to achieve."

- Sir Keir Starmer, London, 31 March 2025

[ Sources: Office for National Statistics | Eurostat | French Government | Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier Ministre) ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 23 Oct 2025

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