After the death of eight migrants in Ambleteuse, anger grows against political inaction

Eight migrants died in the night from Saturday to Sunday after their boat crashed on the coast. On the ground, elected officials, residents and associations are demanding an urgent response from the authorities to put an end to this massacre.

What are the authorities waiting for? This is the question of elected officials, residents, and associations in Pas-de-Calais after the death of eight migrants on the night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 September in Ambleteuse, north of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The makeshift boat crashed on the coast.

Already 46 people have died in the Channel since the beginning of the year to reach England, a sad record broken in mid-September. On the ground, for everyone, it is urgent that the carnage stops.

Balancing on the edge of his window, Ambroise Gournay cleans the tiles in his apartment. Windows that overlook the English Channel. Every week, the deacon of Ambleteuse witnesses migrants leaving, like on September 3. “The Zodiac went around the tug and sank at Cap Gris-Nez, 7 or 8 kilometres from Ambleteuse. There were also deaths, and the tragedy is repeating itself.”

Faced with such tragedies, the man of the Church points the finger at politicians. “The big question for me is: what are our authorities doing? People here have started to seethe. It’s also seething inside me, because we feel a bit helpless and abandoned.”

A feeling shared by the neighbors encountered on the sea wall. Just like Axel Gaudinat, coordinator of the Utopia 56 association in Calais. “We just have to stop seeing exile as a danger, we have to stop blocking, preventing, harassing people, which will cause more and more deaths, he laments. Because people have thousands of miles behind them, they have very justifiable reasons for leaving the place they left. They’re just looking for protection. People are just going to take more risks.”

In Ambleteuse, the inhabitants do not want to get used to these tragedies and instead pay tribute to the eight victims. The deacon proposes a gathering in memory of these men.