Paris, France – The legal immigration crisis continues to pose a major headache for Europeans, despite the signing of numerous agreements to combat this phenomenon at various levels.
France is considered one of the European countries that suffers most from this phenomenon.
Government statement
French maritime authorities announced on Saturday that 185 migrants were rescued between Friday and Saturday in French waters.
This was while they were trying to reach England on illegal boats,
As announced by the English Channel and North Sea Prefecture on Saturday.
Authorities said two rescue operations were carried out on Friday morning.
81 people were rescued from a boat that set off from the Gulf of Somme, while another 80 migrants were rescued.
This came after their boat broke down off the coast of Equehen-Plage in the Pas-de-Calais department.
Late Friday night into Saturday, 24 other migrants were rescued from a boat that had tried to sail from the Slack dunes in the same area,
While the rest of the passengers refused to stop and continued their journey towards Britain.
British Home Office
According to data from the British Home Office, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), no small boats reached England last Friday.
Strengthening procedures
Despite France’s strengthening of its security measures to prevent these journeys, with significant financial support from the United Kingdom, attempts to cross have not decreased.
The British authorities have recorded the arrival of more than 36,300 migrants to English territory since the beginning of this year.
This is close to the 2022 statistics, which saw 37,600 crossings – the highest number to date.
Statistics
According to statistics conducted by the French Press Agency (AFP) based on official data,
At least 27 migrants have died this year while trying to cross the sea border between France and Britain.
A new immigration agreement between London and Paris came into effect last August.
It stipulates the exchange of migrants between the two countries according to the “one for one” principle.
That is, Britain accepts one immigrant from France for every immigrant returned from its territory.
But the agreement, which has faced criticism from human rights organizations and legal challenges,
It remains more symbolic than effective, as it has failed to deter the vast majority of migrants seeking to cross the English Channel illegally.
