The British and French authorities are determined to “prevent 100% crossing of the English Channel” and make it “impossible” for immigrants who wish to enter the UK from the UK. France, Announced on Monday.
Secretary of State for the Interior Pritty Patel The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, issued a joint statement, “On the issue of boats crossing the English Channel and their actions and countermeasures.”
“The Minister of the Interior and the Minister of the Interior have agreed to further strengthen business cooperation. More measures must be taken to prevent dangerous border crossings. They agreed to expedite the implementation of the commitments made in the July 2021 joint agreement in order to fulfill their common determination to Prevent 100% of the border crossing and make this deadly route infeasible,” the statement said.
The statement added that the two ministers discussed a series of additional steps, as well as additional technical solutions to solve organized criminal groups and to deal with escalating problems.
“Everyone agreed that the joint technical working group will meet immediately to use the new technology as soon as possible. The two ministers also pledged to strengthen intelligence sharing and police cooperation,” it said.
Downing Street once called on the French government to take more measures to prevent the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats because of the growing diplomatic debate about who bears the greater responsibility.
Previously, Darmanin intervened. He claimed that the British government regarded his country as a “sandbag” but failed to sort out its unregulated labor market.
On Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson pointed out that the British government had paid France 54 million pounds to strengthen its patrols on the northern coastline, from which many ships were launched.
“We are providing funds to the French to increase surveillance and increase the presence of police to prevent these border crossings from happening.
“Through these investments, we have seen an increase in work stoppages, which is welcome, but it is clear that as the number of border crossings we see every day increases, more work needs to be done,” he said.
The spokesperson said: “It is clear that we need to continue to cooperate with our French counterparts to take more measures to prevent these border crossings, because these border crossings put lives at risk.”
“That’s why the Secretary of the Interior wants to talk to her colleagues to put forward these points and address the unexpected increase in illegal immigration from France, and we are seeing this happening before us.”
Earlier, Dammanen stated that it was British inaction that encouraged people to try dangerous crossings.
“Why do people go Calais? It’s time to go to the UK. Why do they want to go to the UK? This is because the labor market operates in the UK to a large extent, thanks to a large army or reserve-as Karl Marx put it-those who are in abnormal situations but obviously can work at low cost,” he said .
“We did not learn from the British… They must stop using us as a punching bag for their domestic politics. We are neither their collaborators nor their assistants. The smugglers who organize networks and exploit women and children…they I am often in the UK.”
Darmanin told CNews that the British government needs to amend its laws to prevent immigrants from being attracted to the UK.
“If the UK tightens their legislation-they have already started to do so, but it is not strong enough-people will no longer stay in Calais or Dunkirk,” he said.
Last Thursday, an estimated 1,185 people crossed the English Channel by boat, setting a single-day crossing record. In the busy sea lane, three people might drown. So far this year, more than 23,000 people have crossed the English Channel to the UK by boat, a significant increase from 8,400 in 2020. The British government accused France of failing to control the situation.
On Monday, after more people crossed the English Channel at the risk of death, the young children were carried to Dover ashore. A toddler wearing a light blue hoodie was held in her arms by a woman and looked around.
According to the report, a jet ski used to cross the English Channel has been recovered by RNLI at sea and towed ashore in Dungeness.
French authorities became increasingly angry at the anonymous Whitehall briefing, claiming that Paris had failed to keep its promise to use British cash to prevent people from going to the UK.
Patel said over the weekend that France “must be 100% prevented” from ships trying to cross, implying that Monday’s meeting between the two ministers will be very tense.
French police said that although they are blocking more border crossings, they cannot stop all attempts because there are too many immigrants and the coastline is too long to patrol around the clock.
They also mentioned the International Maritime Law, which prevents interference once those going to the UK are on a boat on the water.
Claire Millot, secretary-general of the Salam Association, which helps immigrants from the coastal areas of Calais, told the French media: “Since this summer, the number of boat crossings has increased significantly. Drowning incidents are rare, so the news spread. Multiplied.”
She said the arrival of winter and adverse weather conditions may cause more deaths. “The situation is about to change and we are very worried that despite the winter, the border crossing will continue to occur and tragedies will continue to occur,” she said.
