illegal crossings and attempted crossings of the Channel down 26% year-on-year

According to a joint note from the National Border Police Directorate (DNPAF) and the Office for Combating Illicit Smuggling of Migrants (Oltim), the Vietnamese “represent again the first arrival in the United Kingdom in April 2024” .

Clandestine crossings and attempted crossings of the Channel, aboard makeshift ships, fell by 26% between April 2024 and April 2023, according to a note from the National Border Police Directorate (DNPAF) and the Office to combat the illicit trafficking of migrants (Oltim), consulted by France Inter and franceinfo.

In April 2023, 130 small boats, called “small boats”, left France towards the United Kingdom. 53 crossings were successful (41%). 4,445 migrants boarded these ships. Half of them successfully crossed, according to this document. In April 2024, 96 “small boats” left the beaches of the Channel towards the British coasts, particularly in the “Leffrinckoucke areas in Grand-Fort-Philippe” (North), “Oye-Plage in Hemmes d’Oye” (Pas-de-Calais), “Wimereux at Le Portel” (Pas-de-Calais). A figure therefore down 26% over one year. A third of the boats (33) made the crossing successfully.

“3,567 migrants attempted or succeeded in passing by small boat” last April, a drop of 20% over one year. Among them, 1,660 (47%) successfully crossed.”

Note from DNPAF and Oltim

consulted by franceinfo

The DNPAF and Oltim also note that the “average number of passengers per boat is increasing (50 compared to 42 in April 2023)”.

76% of departures take place between midnight and 9 a.m. 76% of the “small boats” that successfully made the crossing left between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m., according to this note. Pas-de-Calais remains the department “the most affected (52% of events) but the North is now facing significant migratory pressure”.

The National Directorate of Border Police and the Office for Combating Smuggling of Migrants explain that “migrant groups no longer hesitate to oppose the action of internal security forces and protect the launching of their boats by placing women and children in front if necessary or by continuing the security forces to try to beat them with sticks or iron bars.

Since the start of 2024, the DNPAF and Oltim have recorded 396 crossings or attempted crossings. A figure up 2% compared to the same period in 2023. 147 “small boats” (37%) successfully completed the crossing. 14,083 migrants attempted or succeeded in reaching British shores, i.e. 10% more compared to the first four months of 2023. Half of them (7,084) successfully crossed the Channel.

The Vietnamese occupy “the first rank of nationalities intercepted on board small boats” since the beginning of 2024 (“21% of the overall volume”). Then come the Afghans (20%), the Syrians (11%), the Iranians (11%) and the Eritreans (10%). The note highlights that an agreement was signed on April 17 between the United Kingdom and Vietnam to “strengthen cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration and prevent Vietnamese from risking their lives by crossing the Channel”. The two countries “committed to jointly conducting communication campaigns of a dissuasive nature, increase the sharing of information to combat the misuse of visas, facilitate the return procedure, develop a common action plan to combat human trafficking, encourage the sharing of information or even promote entry by legal routes.