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Activists demonstrate on Calais beach after the accident
Photo: Michel Spingler / dpa
After at least 31 people died in the English Channel, British and French authorities blame each other for the disaster. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for cooperation, but at the same time called on France to tighten controls. The mayor of the French coastal town of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, accused Johnson of cowardice. The prime minister takes no responsibility, said Bouchart.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency meeting of the ministers responsible for migration issues in the EU member states. "France will not allow the English Channel to turn into a cemetery," Macron said in a statement. In it he also called for an immediate reinforcement of the EU border protection agency Frontex. Since the beginning of the year, 1552 smugglers have been arrested on the French coast and 44 networks of smugglers broken up. "If we don't step up our efforts immediately, more tragedies will repeat themselves."
On Wednesday, a boat with 33 migrants who wanted to enter the UK illegally capsized in the English Channel.
The French authorities announced that 31 people died, including five women and a girl.
Four suspected smugglers were arrested.
According to French information, it was the worst incident so far with refugees in the strait.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the rickety dinghy was more like an inflatable swimming pool for the garden.
France calls for more help from London
Darmanin insisted on tougher crackdown on the smugglers, whom he compared to terrorists and big drug lords.
"It's an international problem," he said.
"The answer must also come from Great Britain, we have to fight together against people smugglers." A coordinated approach, including the involvement of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, is necessary.
The English Channel between Dover and Calais is considered to be the busiest shipping route in the world.
In northern France, a number of people seeking protection are waiting under adverse circumstances for a crossing to Great Britain.
So far this year, more than 25,700 people have illegally crossed the English Channel.
That is more than three times as many as in all of 2020. It was only in July that London and Paris agreed a new cooperation agreement to get a grip on the growing number of migrants coming to England in small boats across the English Channel.
London pledged € 62.7 million to support the French authorities.
Not "get away with murder"
The accident shows "that nothing can stop the gangs that send people out to sea in these dangerous vehicles," said Prime Minister Johnson.
He offered to help the French officials inspect the canal.
If the smugglers were not made clear that their business model was no longer working, they would continue to risk people's lives and "get away with murder," Johnson said.
Johnson also met criticism in his own country.
The misanthropic policies of his conservative government were responsible for the tragedy, stressed several politicians of the opposition Labor party on Wednesday evening.
Instead of stricter asylum laws, the government must offer humane and safe routes to Britain.
mrc / dpa / Reuters
