France, Britain to announce new migrant treaty today

PARIS, Jan 17 (AFP): French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May will announce a new treaty on how to handle migrants hoping to head to Britain, the French presidency said Wednesday.

The treaty, set to be announced at a summit in London on Thursday, will "complete the Le Touquet accord", Macron's office said in reference to a 2003 deal that effectively put Britain's border in northern France.

The details are "still being finalised", the French presidency said, but the treaty will include measures on how to manage unaccompanied minors, and Britain will make a "major" financial contribution.

The original text, which came into force in February 2004, implemented joint controls at coastal ports in both countries as Britain, which is not part of Europe's Schengen visa-free zone, looked to bolster efforts to keep migrants out.

Later accords led to Britain financing some of the controls and security operations in Calais, just across the English Channel from its own port in Dover.