Five dead and four missing in 2022. About 52,000 migrants tried last year to reach England by crossing the Strait of Pas de Calais, from the French coast, according to a report drawn up this Friday by the prefecture. maritime.

Of these 52,000 candidates for the crossing, 8,300 were "rescued and brought back to France", the others managed to reach the English coast, detailed the maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea, Marc Véran, during a press conference, in Le Touquet in the Pas-de-Calais.

30% increase

"It is an undeniable accentuation of the phenomenon: there were 36,000 last year, therefore an increase of 30%", he continued, referring to increasingly large and loaded boats, with up to to 100 migrants on board.

The figures from the maritime prefecture agree with the assessment established by AFP based on data from the British Ministry of Defense of 45,756 migrants who managed to reach England.

Paris and London signed an agreement in mid-November to counter these dangerous crossing attempts, which notably provides for an envelope of 72.2 million euros that the British will have to pay in 2022-2023 to France to increase from 800 to 900 the number of police and gendarmes on French beaches.

The sinking of a rubber dinghy carrying dozens of migrants from France left four dead in mid-December.

In November 2021, at least 27 migrants had perished in the sinking of their boat.

Company

Channel: More than 160 migrants rescued off the French coast since Friday

Miscellaneous facts

Shipwreck in the Channel: The final balance sheet stopped at 4 dead and 39 survivors

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  • Migrants

  • Hauts-de-France

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