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France and the United Kingdom signed an agreement on Monday, November 14, to fight against illegal arrivals. Will he be able to deter smugglers and migrants from crossing the border? Report in Calais.
On November 24, 2021, 27 migrants perished at sea, trying to reach the United Kingdom. Since the start of the year, 40,000 have crossed the Channel. Calais (Pas-de-Calais), is the closest crossing point to the English coast. They are now around 1,000 waiting their turn in makeshift camps. Adam fled Sudan. “I tried by all means to cross, car, boat. I was arrested, then released by the police. I will never give up until I get there”, he confides. On the morning of Monday November 14, France and the United Kingdom signed a cooperation agreement against irregular immigration. The British have invested 72 million euros, and France will deploy 350 additional police officers.
The objective is to better detect and intercept attempts to cross the Channel. For associations that help migrants, faced with the omnipotence of smugglers, strengthening police resources is a decoy. “When you militarize a border like that, it’s not something that curbs immigration. That’s a good view of the mind for the far right. (…) What is happening, it is that it makes the border more expensive for exiles to cross, and more dangerous, that’s all”comments Pierre Roques, of the association “L’auberge des migrants”.