(Calais) After the shock of the worst migratory tragedy to have occurred in the Channel and while Paris and London seemed to want to overcome their disagreements, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday asked France to take back migrants who arrived illegally in England from the coasts French.
The death of 27 migrants trying to reach England on Wednesday evening in the sinking of their boat is the deadliest migratory drama since the increase in Channel crossings in 2018, in the face of the growing lockdown of the French port of Calais ( north of France) and the rail tunnel, used until then.
If Paris and London seemed so far to want to silence their disagreements and improve their coordination, Boris Johnson has asked French President Emmanuel Macron to take back all migrants arriving in England from France.
“I propose that we put in place a bilateral readmission agreement to allow the return of all irregular migrants crossing the Channel,” the British leader said in a letter posted on Twitter, referring to similar agreements concluded by the EU with Belarus or Russia.
According to him, such a measure “would have an immediate effect and would considerably reduce – or even stop – crossings”.
“France is a transit country, we are fighting against these networks of smugglers who use distress, but for that we must improve European cooperation”, had earlier pleaded the French president, traveling to Zagreb.
Seeming on the same wavelength, British Home Secretary Priti Patel called for a “coordinated international effort”, in front of British MPs.
Thus, France has invited “the ministers in charge of Belgian, German, Dutch and British immigration, as well as the European Commission, to a meeting” on Sunday in Calais.
“This meeting should make it possible to define the ways and means of strengthening police, judicial and humanitarian cooperation” to “better fight against smuggling networks”, explained the services of French Prime Minister Jean Castex.
This displayed common will left some observers skeptical as relations between Paris and London are appalling.
“They are going to have to work together. But can he do it when relationships are so bad, always with the risk of one saying the other isn’t doing enough? Asks John Springford, expert at the Center for European Reform (CER) in London.
The issue of crossings, which regularly stirs up bilateral tensions, is a delicate one for the British Conservative government, which has made the fight against immigration its hobbyhorse in the wake of Brexit.
In a statement released Thursday evening after a discussion between Priti Patel and her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin, the British Home Office said it had made a “clear offer to France in terms of cooperation […] and joint patrols to prevent these dangerous journeys from taking place ”.
France has so far always rejected this proposal for joint patrols, put forward several times by Boris Johnson, for reasons of sovereignty.
On the spot nothing undermines the determination of the migrants, like Emmanuel D’Mulbah. “It’s demoralizing, I’m scared, but I will continue” to attempt this risky crossing, confesses to AFP this Liberian, waiting in the port city of Calais: “It’s my dream. ”
“Kurds, Iranians and Afghans”
The drama took place on a “long boat”, a fragile inflatable boat with a flexible bottom, the use of which by smugglers has increased since the summer. The boat had left from Dunkirk (north), according to a source familiar with the matter.
Among the victims are 17 men, seven women and three young people, according to the prosecutor of Lille (north).
The two survivors, an Iraqi and a Somali, were in “serious hypothermia yesterday”, but “a little better today”, indicated Thursday Gerald Darmanin.
About 200 people, mainly activists and some exiles, gathered Thursday evening in Calais to pay tribute to the victims.
The circumstances of the tragedy have not yet been clarified, but Mohamed, a 22-year-old Syrian, told AFP that he had been with them: “They were with me here in Calais three days ago”.
“They were Iraqi Kurds, Iranians and Afghans. We lived in the camps, in the streets, we even slept in the Calais train station. Three days ago, the group told us: “We’re going to England”, and they’ve left, ”he says, surrounded by several compatriots who nod.
The wreckage will be examined to clarify the causes of the sinking and five people, suspected of being smugglers, have been arrested, according to Mr. Darmanin.
An investigation was opened in France for “assistance with the irregular entry and stay in an organized group”, “homicide and involuntary injuries” and “criminal association”.
“Since the 1er January, we arrested 1,500 smugglers, ”assured Mr. Darmanin on Thursday. Smugglers who function as “mafia organizations” which “fall under organized crime” with the use in particular of “encrypted telephones”.
As of November 20, 31,500 migrants had left the coast since the start of the year and 7,800 had been rescued. Before this sinking, the human toll since January amounted to three dead and four missing.