In the deadliest incident since the beginning of the current immigration crisis, the leaders of Britain and France blamed each other after at least 27 people were killed while trying to cross the English Channel.
In a call with Boris Johnson on Wednesday night, the French President Emmanuel Macron The Elysée Palace stated that it emphasized the “shared responsibilities” of France and the United Kingdom and told Johnson that he looked forward to full cooperation and would not use the situation for “political purposes.”
Thirty-four people are considered On the ship when sinking On Wednesday, this resulted in what the International Organization for Migration said was the largest single loss of life in the strait since data collection began in 2014. Two survivors are in the intensive care unit.
The British Prime Minister once again called for France Agreed to conduct joint police patrols along the coast of the Channel, and said Wednesday’s incident highlighted that the French authorities’ efforts to patrol the beaches are “not enough”.
“It is difficult for us to convince some of our partners, especially the French, to do things in a way that we think the situation deserves,” he said on Wednesday. “I understand the difficulties faced by all countries, but what we want now is to do more together-this is our proposal.”
Fearing the impact on national sovereignty, the French had previously rejected the British proposal to send police and border guard agents to conduct joint patrols.
Macron also called for an emergency meeting of European government ministers and immediately provided financial support to Frontex, the EU border agency. The French government will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the next steps.
“France will not let the Strait be a cemetery,” Macron said.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called for coordination with the United Kingdom, stating that “the response must also come from the United Kingdom.”
According to the recently announced parliamentary timetable, the House of Commons will hold a debate on the “number of immigrants arriving in Britain illegally by boat” before noon on Thursday.
Immigration Compliance Minister Tom Pursglove confirmed in a speech on News Night that Johnson had renewed his proposal to allow British police and border guard officials to participate in joint patrols with France, and said that the last incident indicated two China needs to deepen cooperation.
“The Prime Minister and President Macron had that discussion tonight. This is something I am very eager to see,” he said. “In the past, we have offered to host and assist joint patrols. I think this is very valuable to help solve this problem. I really hope that the French will reconsider this proposal.”
A Johnson spokesperson said the two leaders have agreed to increase the urgency of joint efforts to prevent deadly crossings. They also emphasized the importance of working closely with Belgium and the Netherlands and other countries on the African continent.
Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart (Natacha Bouchart) said that the British should be blamed and called on Johnson to “face up to his responsibilities.” “The British government is the culprit. I believe Boris Johnson According to French media reports, in the past year and a half, she has chosen to criticize France cynically. “
The strait is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and the water is turbulent. Traffickers often overload small boats, making them almost impossible to float and being at the mercy of waves when they try to reach the British coast.
The two countries cooperate to prevent cross-strait immigration, but they also accuse each other of not doing enough-politicians on both sides often use this issue to advance the anti-immigration agenda.
Dammanin said at a press conference in Calais that the people killed in Wednesday’s tragedy included five women and one girl. He said that the sunken ship was “very fragile” and compared it to “the pool you blow up in the garden.”
He said that 34 people are believed to have been working before the sinking, and it is not clear which country the victims originally came from.
He said that four suspected traffickers had been arrested and two of them later appeared in court.
Refugee charities are calling on the government to open a safe route for asylum seekers to save lives and allow them to apply to come to the UK without going to sea.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Before the government fundamentally changes its approach and commits to ambitiously expanding safety routes for men, women and children in desperate need of protection, we must see how much of this. Tragedy?
“Every day, people are forced to flee their homes and it is not their own fault. It is time to end the cruel and ineffective strategy of trying to punish or expel those who are trying to seek safety in our country.”
At about 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon, a fishing boat sounded the alarm after spotting several people in the waters off the coast of France, and an emergency search began.
The latest deaths have occurred after other people who have been reported in the Strait in recent weeks but have not been confirmed, and the number of people attempting to cross the border hit a record high. On November 11, a total of 1,185 people arrived in England by boat, the most in a single day.
According to official data, more than 25,700 people traveled to the UK in small boats this year, three times the total in 2020.
It is widely expected that the number of border crossings in winter will decrease. Instead, larger ships have been used to bring more people to Britain.
