London wants a sealed border, Paris demands a treaty and "
less economic attractiveness
" from the British: the record arrival of migrants in England is a source of tension on both coasts of the Channel.
According to the tally of the British news agency PA, more than 18,000 migrants have made the crossing to the English coast in small clandestine boats since the beginning of the year, more than double the figure of the whole of year 2020. Under the Touquet agreements in force since 2004, the British border is fixed on the French coast.
In return, London pays financial compensation, the amounts of which are regularly renegotiated.
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This year, the United Kingdom pledged in July to pay France an additional 62.7 million euros.
According to several British media, the Minister of the Interior Priti Patel had however threatened not to pay this sum, for lack of results on the French side, to the astonishment of her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin.
The United Kingdom finally announced Monday that it would give this money to France "
in the coming weeks
".
“
The British have few commitments, we suffer for them!
"Storms the LR mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, who demands, like several other local elected officials,"
a review
"of these agreements.
Treaty on migration
The British government, for which the toughening of the fight against immigration has been a priority since Brexit, is preparing to make the conditions for granting asylum much stricter.
He intends to make these perilous crossings impracticable and is pushing for France to step up its efforts to prevent them.
According to the Times, Priti Patel called for the UK's interpretation of international maritime law to be rewritten so that the Border Force can turn back the boats.
"
France will not accept any practice contrary to the law of the sea, nor any financial blackmail,
" responded Gerald Darmanin.
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The French authorities do not intercept at sea the boats which are not in difficulty because "
the risk
" is "
extremely important
", explained to AFP Philippe Dutrieux, maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea. On the French side, the English are being asked to reduce their “
economic attractiveness
”. "A
lot of people go to Great Britain today because you can work there, including when you are a foreigner in an irregular situation
", according to Gérald Darmanin. To solve "
the problem of asylum requests
", "
deportations
" and "
family reunification
”, The French minister asks for the negotiation of a treaty on the migratory question between the EU and the United Kingdom.