France says wants to work on renegotiating border controls deal with UK

PARIS, 12 July. - (ANA) - France wants to discuss with Britain renegotiating the 'Le Touquet' agreement, under which border controls for both countries are completed at the exit point, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters on Wednesday.

The treaty, a bilateral deal which is separate from wider European Union border rules, has become a bone of contention since thousands of migrants trying to reach Britain began camping around the French coastal port of Calais.

Britain's vote last year to quit the European Union has provided fresh impetus for demands by some French politicians and local businesses to bring the treaty to an end.

"It takes two to negotiate. We have said it several times that we wanted to rediscuss it," Collomb told reporters on the sidelines of a presentation on changes to the asylum seeking process.

"It's definitely something we want to work on." - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 12 July 2017 - - -