United Kingdom: nearly 700 migrants cross the Channel in one day

Migrants arrive at the port of Dover, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel (Illustrative image).

REUTERS - HANNAH MCKAY

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Despite an increasingly restrictive policy towards migrants.

The United Kingdom recorded a record on Monday August 2 for Channel crossings.

Fourteen boats and nearly 700 migrants reached the English coast in 24 hours.

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Six hundred and ninety-six migrants in 14 boats arrived in England on Monday, according to Ministry of Defense figures.

This is more than any day in 2022. The previous “record” was set on April 13, recalls our correspondent in London,

.

Sailings have been increasing for several weeks, with July seeing the most arrivals to British shores.

Yet since the start of the year, the UK government has stepped up its rhetoric and policy to tackle illegal immigration.

First, with a partnership to

to Rwanda, and to send anyone who arrived illegally in the UK there.

This project is currently suspended due to a decision of the European Court of Human Rights.

Then, since the end of June, a new law makes illegal arrival in the country punishable by four years in prison.

Smugglers risk life for their activities.

Recurrent tensions France / United Kingdom

The MP for the coastal town of Dover, which sees the majority of arrivals, has called on French authorities to do more to prevent Channel crossings.

Monday August 2, France intercepted around 70 people trying to reach England.

Supported by the border police (PAF) and relief at the port of Calais, all are safe and sound, said the PAF and relief at the port of Calais.

At least 203 people have died or gone missing, at sea or on land, trying to reach England from the northern coast of France since 2014, including 27 in a single day at the end of 2021 in a shipwreck, according to a updated count from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to The

on Monday, Home Secretary Priti Patel is set for the third consecutive year to pay millions of pounds to France as part of a deal to tackle these crossings, at the heart of recurring tensions between the French and British governments.

In the fall of 2021, Priti Patel had, according to the British press, threatened not to pay the more than 60 million euros promised, for lack of results on the French side, to the great astonishment of his French counterpart Gérald Darmanin.

► To read also: Asylum seekers: the United Kingdom is barricading itself behind new legislation

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