Emmanuel Macron has launched a furious attack on Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda plan.
The French president said the UK government’s determination to deport migrants to Africa was “a betrayal of [European] values” and would prove to be “ineffective”.
His comments came days after parliament finally passed the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which the prime minister said would see flights to the country taking take off in 10 to 12 weeks.
But in a speech in Paris, Macron said he did not agree with “this model that some people want to put in place, which means that you go and look for a third country, for example in Africa, and send our immigrants there”.
He added: “We’re creating a geopolitics of cynicism which betrays our values and will build new dependencies, and which will prove completely ineffective,”
Macron also took a swipe at Brexit which he said had led to “an explosion of negative effects”.
A spokesperson for Sunak said the government’s approach was “the right one”.
He said: “Indeed, we’ve seen other partners and other countries around the world also explore similar options.”