Paris must
"strengthen cooperation" on the thorny issue of migrants with London even if the British "oscillate between partnership and provocation,"
said Emmanuel Macron in an interview with La Voix du Nord published Thursday evening.
The Head of State recognizes that the influx of migrants wishing to go to the United Kingdom causes
"a very difficult situation for the inhabitants of Calais".
"I will carry reforms within the framework of the French presidency of the EU"
, from January 1, he specifies.
Before adding:
“We have the British, who oscillate between partnership and provocation.
We need to further strengthen collaboration.
If those (migrants) who want to join Britain have family there, it has to be part of family reunification.
If they are victims of traffickers, we must break this system ”
.
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According to the maritime prefecture, around 15,400 migrants attempted the dangerous crossing of the Channel between January 1 and August 31, of which 3,500 were "recovered in difficulty" in the strait and brought back to the French coast.
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Emmanuel Macron indicates that he spoke on Wednesday with the mayor of Calais
"to help his city regain its future"
and that
"new solutions"
would be announced by
"several ministers"
in
"the coming weeks"
.
"I hear the concerns of associations and the defender of rights," he
adds, while the two activists from Calais on hunger strike since October 11 in support of migrants announced on Wednesday the end of their action.
