Sending migrants back across the Channel could end the small boats crisis, French interior minister Bruno Retailleau admitted.
Mr Retailleau said returning asylum seekers to France would “send a clear message” that could act as a deterrent to those considering risking their lives.
It marks a significant positional shift in Paris, which has previously refused to consider a bilateral migrant deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron has insisted Britain must strike a returns deal with the EU – something the Government has so far refused to do.
Mr Retailleau said: “I do think that there must be an agreement that we can come to, a bilateral agreement between governments.
“Because we see many of those who land on British soil don’t come back. Even when one has crossed the Channel, if one is sent back that will send a clear message.”
French police could start intercepting Channel migrant boats at the end of May, Home Office insiders believe.
Sources believe this will be when a new specialist policing unit trained in tackling public disorder starts patrolling the coastline.
Mr Retailleau added: “We have to deal with the crossings.
"Up until now, we considered it to be a French doctrine that we would save people on the seas — but that we would take no risk whatsoever.
"So we would accompany the people on the boats.
“I’ve seen a number of videos where the taxi boats come close to the coast to pick up the migrants in water that’s not very deep, and I think that our gendarmes cannot intervene.
"We need to change that doctrine of intervention.”
At least 60 migrants have been taken back to France by British vessels after being rescued in the Channel, the Daily Express can reveal.
In a sign of improving relations with Paris on migration, three Border Force vessels have been allowed to take asylum seekers back to French ports.
The first British operation took place in October as the two Governments scrambled to prevent more migrant deaths in the Channel.
But the Daily Express can reveal another two British vessels have been given permission to take people back to Calais.
Border Force captains can request permission to dock at a French port if they have rescued migrants from the water.
It is an agreement designed to save lives at sea and the destination is dependent upon factors such as whether there are any medical emergencies or the conditions in the Channel.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised the plan – codenamed Operation Windspire - with French President Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral call last Summer.
Under the proposal, British vessels could enter French waters and rescue migrants if they were in distress. The Home Office also considered renting a rescue ship from Poland to conduct more joint operations.
The confidential plan was put into action for the first time in October.
An insider told the Daily Express: “It was always planned that this would be done with French co-operation and would not be possible without their buy-in.”
French police refuse to intervene once a vessel is in the water.
Smugglers have adapted by using so-called “taxi-boats”, where they quietly launch the dinghy in a canal or quieter part of the beach and then pick up larger numbers of migrants down the coastline.
More than 60,000 migrants could cross the Channel this year, think-tank Migration Watch warned.
More than 6,600 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year.
This includes 4,586 in March – the highest figure ever recorded in the first six months of a calendar year.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used an immigration summit in London to urge more than 40 countries to do more to tackle smuggler supply lines and cash flows.
He wants nations to share intelligence, resources, tactics and equipment to “smash the gangs.
But Labour is coming under intense scrutiny over its “smash the gangs plan” as three of the top ten months with the most arrivals have come under Sir Keir’s premiership.
Officials believe there have been far more “red days” – when crossings are considered likely because conditions are calmer – than in previous years.
