D owning Street has said it expects to "make good progress" on tackling small boats crossing the Channel during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Britain.

The Prime Minister hopes the French president will sign up to a “one in, one out” deal when they hold a Franco-British summit at Downing Street.

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron met at No 10 as the UK pushes for France to do more to stop migrant crossings. Mr Macron said a renewed partnership between the two countries on border security and other areas was “a game changer”. The French president arrived on Tuesday for the first state visit by an EU head of state since Brexit.

The prime minister is facing a fight to salvage his much-vaunted ‘one in, one out’ deal with France to return illegal migrants

Almost 20,000 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of 2025 - a 48% increase on the same period in 2024. Official figures show that 19,982 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats between January and June 2025.

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a new deterrent to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

Sir Keir Starmer hosted Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street as he pushed for further joint action to tackle the small boats crisis.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Britain and France must work together to counter the world's many destabilising threats and protect Europe from "excessive dependencies" on the United States and China.