DECRYPTION
It is a growing phenomenon, despite extensive surveillance: more and more migrants are trying to cross the Channel. Since the start of the year, there have been no less than 342 attempts to reach the English coast from France. A total of 4,192 migrants have been rescued since January, twice as many as in 2019. This increase in attempts can be explained by several factors, including the strengthening of controls in the Channel Tunnel.
Less controls and calm seas
"I arrived in Belgium by truck, the same as far as Calais", testifies at the microphone of Europe 1 Lidjam, an Eritrean who is cooling off on a roundabout near the hospital. "But there are too many checks to go through [England] this way." So like many others, he will "try the boat" to finally reach England. This is a goal he has been pursuing for two years. But truck checks are not the only reason these people use the seaway. The weather also plays an important role, explains Bernard Barron, president of the Calais Sea Rescuers. "Very calm seas and the absence of wind play a major role in the number of attempts, and the smugglers understand that."
A real business
Organized in increasingly structured networks, these smugglers have also found a very interesting financial windfall, since the crossing costs between 3,000 and 7,000 euros. "It's profitable," confirms the vice-president of the Auberge des migrants, François Guennoc. "A small inflatable boat on which migrants sometimes crowd around fifteen, it is 2,000 euros without counting the engine."
But "a migrant pays much more than this sum, without counting that the smugglers adapt their tariffs to the nationalities… It is a business." In addition, although dangerous, a crossing has a statistically two in three chances of success. A figure that certainly has something to motivate some: in the last three days alone, 500 migrants have gone through this ordeal.
Boris Johnson's "declaration of maritime war"
THREAD:
The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling and unacceptably high. The figures are shameful.
France and other EU states are safe countries. Genuine refugees should claim asylum there, not risk their lives and break the law by coming to the UK. pic.twitter.com/qy2ykYicvl
This has also triggered the anger of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, describing these crossings as "stupid, dangerous and criminal", while specifying that he wanted to change the British legislation which currently makes it "very very difficult" to him. expel migrants who have arrived illegally. A modification which could concretely involve the British army to settle the question, an inadmissible hypothesis for the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart.
"It is a declaration of maritime war", the mayor blurted out at the microphone of Europe 1. "It is out of the question that the territory of Calais accepts the conditions that Boris Johnson is putting forward: to bring in the army to push back and drop off migrants on the French coast. We destroyed the image of the city in 2016 [with the Calais jungle, note], and we are in the process of rebuilding ourselves: we have a crazy world , a beautiful season, tourist activities that are working very well ... We do not want to fall back into measures that degrade our image. "
"Concentrate resources on smuggling networks"
Rather than prevent the crossing, the city council proposes instead to "concentrate the means on the networks of smugglers". For its part, the French Ministry of the Interior indicated that a plan to combat illegal sea crossings, drawn up in consultation with the British authorities, is being finalized to strengthen the means of control on the coasts and upstream. of the main crossing points. Last month, a "Franco-British intelligence unit" in the fight against migrant smugglers was also set up.