“The best way to save lives is for these people to accept accommodation far from Calais and far from the coast”, declared on franceinfo Didier Leschi, director general of the French Office for Immigration and Integration. This Monday, December 20, the Utopia 56 association lodged a complaint for “manslaughter” and “failure to provide assistance” against the French and British authorities after the shipwreck which cost the lives of at least 27 migrants on November 24 off the French coast.
According to him, the situation has not really changed since this tragedy. They ask associations in the field, and in particular Utopia 56 not to “help migrants to stay close to the seaside “ to prevent them from dangerous crossings.
Franceinfo: Has the situation changed for a month in Calaisis?
Didier Leschi: Unfortunately, there are always departures. Sometimes there can be up to 50 departures at the same time, i.e. hundreds of people who are taken in by smugglers and sent in extremely life-threatening conditions across the Channel. . This is the situation, and this is why we are urging associations, including Utopia 56, not to help migrants to stay near the seaside, but rather to work so that all the people who are there accept emergency accommodation. Accommodation that is far from where smugglers can show them paths that can lead them to death.
Is the strengthening of the fight against smugglers announced by the authorities yielding results?
It works, but unfortunately it’s a system where people who get arrested are replaced very quickly. It’s like drug trafficking, so every night we have dozens and dozens of people who can be saved by the rescuers and at the same time, dozens and dozens of people who manage to get through in extremely difficult conditions. . The whole point is to keep them away from the shore. Unfortunately, one in two or three people refuse the accommodation offered to them which is long-term accommodation. There are also people who must be able to apply for asylum in France and therefore be in much more favorable conditions than risking their lives. There are ongoing discussions by the government for the British to agree to look into the possibilities of family reunification.
Associations on the ground denounce the decrees which prohibit them from accessing certain sites, such as the one where the soldiers came to slip up this weekend. Are these decrees legitimate?
This site is one of the sites that allow smugglers to have people at their fingertips. And that’s why the authorities offer accommodation far from the sea, there is nothing more to say. You should also know that the State works with associations, they are not limited to Utopia 56. The State finances more than a hundred associative jobs in Calais. There are two types of associations, those of which most of the employees and volunteers are Calaisians. And then there are associations which refuse to work with the State, which have an ideology with the idea that any border is illegitimate and that these people should not be offered accommodation far from Calais.