The body of a man was found Wednesday morning on a beach in Sangatte (Pas-de-Calais). Found by the police around 7 a.m., the body has not yet been identified.
According to the first elements, it would be a migrant. Police discovered his body after the rescue at sea of a young Sudanese exile, castaway from an inflatable boat, who declared his traveling companion missing.
"It will be necessary to determine whether it was a migrant, but according to the first elements we think so," said the deputy prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-mer, confirming information from La Voix du Nord. He establishes a "link between this discovery and the rescue" of the young migrant, "who was rescued at sea during the night after the sinking of his small boat". Aged 16 and of Sudanese nationality, the young man "indicated that he had attempted to cross the Channel in the company of another person, so it is very likely that this missing person corresponds to the body found", a detailed M. Sabatier.
According to the young man's statements, the missing person "would be the same age as him". The prosecution opened an investigation into "the cause of death".
A hot topic between France and Great Britain
“This unbearable drama mobilizes us again with @GDarmanin against the smugglers who take advantage of the distress of human beings! », Reacted on Twitter Marlène Schiappa, Minister Delegate in charge of citizenship.
Immense sadness: a 16-year-old Sudanese migrant who disappeared at sea last night was found dead on the beach of Sangatte this morning.
This unbearable drama mobilizes us again + with @GDarmanin against the smugglers who take advantage of the distress of human beings!
Since January 1, at least 960 migrants have been intercepted by French authorities after trying to cross the Channel using makeshift boats or swimming, according to an AFP count. Children are regularly among the castaways. On Saturday, for example, the authorities rescued 31 migrants including three children and an 18-month-old infant.
In 2019, 2,758 migrants attempting these crossings were rescued by the French and British authorities, four times more than in 2018, according to the maritime prefecture. Four migrants were found dead at sea and on a French beach. Hundreds of migrants are camping along the coast, especially in Calais and Grande-Synthe, in deplorable conditions while waiting to cross the Channel. The associations regularly denounce human rights violations.
London puts pressure on Paris
To assist the Coast Guard facing these record flows, the British Army deployed an additional surveillance aircraft and Royal Navy personnel.
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The British authorities are also asking France to do more, provoking an annoyed reaction from Paris, and have said they want to make this path “impracticable”. To put pressure on France, the Secretary of State for Immigration, Chris Philp, went to Paris on Tuesday to request additional efforts.
This week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denounced as "stupid, dangerous and criminal" to want to cross the Channel illegally to the United Kingdom. He said he also wanted to change British legislation which he said currently makes it “very, very difficult” to deport illegally arrived migrants.
According to the British press, his Home Secretary Priti Patel told MPs that the migrants come to Britain because they believe France is "a racist country" where they risk being "tortured". Government sources interviewed by the press stressed that the minister did not share this opinion but wanted to explain the factors put forward by the migrants.
