London-Sana
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have traded accusations of responsibility after at least 27 people drowned in the deadliest accident in the narrow corridor separating the two countries since the current migration crisis began.
And according to the Guardian newspaper, Macron stressed, during a phone call with Johnson, “the joint responsibility of France and Britain,” calling on the British side to show full cooperation in this issue and not to use the migration crisis for purely internal political purposes, while French Interior Minister Gerald Darmannan said in a separate statement: “It must be done.” Britain must also be part of the solution.”
In turn, Johnson renewed his call to France to agree to conduct joint patrols along the canal, accusing the French side of not doing enough and not carrying out its duties to prevent such incidents.
In separate statements, Macron stressed the need for the European Union's Border and Coast Guard Agency to obtain more funding to protect the bloc's internal borders and thus help prevent migrants from crowding the northern coasts of France, and said: "France will not allow the canal to turn into a cemetery."
The International Organization for Migration said in a statement that the boat that sank yesterday was carrying about 34 people, and its sinking led to what it described as the largest loss of life in the canal since it began collecting data in 2014.
