British Home Secretary Priti Patel has approved a new strategy of pushing back to France migrant boats crossing the Channel to reach the United Kingdom, several British newspapers said Thursday, a practice firmly rejected by Paris.
Read also London denounces the "unacceptable" number of migrants crossing the Channel
According to these newspapers, the British Border Force is being trained in new methods to turn back these boats before they reach the south of England, while record flows have been observed in recent months.
"An absolute priority"
The
Times
states that Patel called for the UK's interpretation of international maritime law to be rewritten in this regard.
This strategy, which has received the approval of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, would only be used in "
very limited circumstances
" according to the
Telegraph
, for larger ships and when the situation is deemed safe.
Read alsoMigrants: Paris and London to discuss Channel crossings
After "
constructive discussions
" with her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin on Wednesday in London, she indicated on Twitter that she wanted to obtain "
results
" and make the stopping of crossings "
an absolute priority
".
But in a letter addressed to the British Minister, dated Monday, Darmanin had warned the recourse to refoulements at sea "
would risk having a negative impact on our cooperation
".
"
At sea, the safeguard of human life takes precedence over considerations of nationality, status and migration policy in strict compliance with international maritime law which organizes search and rescue at sea
", he insisted.
More than 13,000 since the start of the year
London, which has made toughening the fight against immigration a priority since Brexit, wants to make these perilous crossings impractical and has long pressed for France to step up its efforts to prevent them.
Read alsoMigrants: Castaner signs a charter with London to stop crossings
A new wave of migrants crossing the Channel has been observed in recent days, facilitated by the good weather.
On Monday, 785 migrants arrived in the United Kingdom illegally, after a record of 828 in one day reached in August, bringing to more than 13,000 their number since the beginning of the year, according to the PA news agency.
In his letter, Gérald Darmanin rejected the British proposal to create a “
single joint command center
” for French and British forces, deeming it contrary to French sovereignty and unnecessary because coordination on the ground is already “
good and efficient
”. He stressed that the increase in the number of migrants disembarking in the United Kingdom was mainly explained by the use of smugglers to larger capacity boats.
