Whose fault is it ? In the aftermath of the sinking of a migrant boat in the English Channel, which left at least 27 dead, the question burns lips. The British press has logically devoted its headlines to the drama, Thursday, November 25. Most of the headlines are unanimous: the French and British governments must urgently agree, so that such a tragedy does not happen again. This was also the meaning of the interview between Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson on Wednesday evening. The French President and the British Prime Minister agreed on the urgency of stepping up the fight against illegal crossings in the Channel and the need to do everything possible to stop the smuggling networks that put the lives of migrants at risk .
"The worst disaster" of the crisis in the Channel
Soberly, the
Times
headlines about the "
dozens of migrants
" who "
are drowning in the tragedy of the English Channel
."
Front-page editorial calls on Macron and Johnson to take action.
"
Without intensive cross-border cooperation to fight smuggling gangs, little can stem the flow of dangerous crossings and prevent further deaths,
" said the journalist.
The
Guardian
and the
Financial Times
, both of which closed their editions before the figure of 31 dead was lowered to 27, agree that it is the "
worst disaster
" of the migrant crisis in the Channel, just like the
Telegraph
.
Read also Shipwreck in the Channel: Macron calls on Europe, right and RN denounce the "smugglers", the left calls for a better reception
During the night, BBC journalist Lewis Goodall raised two issues for governments on both sides of the Channel: “
For France, the conditions in migrant camps, with children living in the woods or on the streets. . For Britain, the lack of legal asylum routes to the island, which is one of the main reasons migrants accept the risk of going to sea
”. The reactions of politicians are of the same ilk. Labor Party boss Keir Starmer said on Twitter that the British and French governments "
have a duty to prevent migrants from being forced into such peril
".
Labor MP Alf Dubs said nothing else: “
The British government must strengthen its cooperation with our French neighbors.
And refugee children stranded in the EU, with family in the UK, should be reunited here, safely and quickly
”.
The tabloids accuse France
But some British media quickly took advantage of the tragedy to accuse the French neighbor and the ineffectiveness of its fight against migrant crossings. This is particularly the case of the
Daily Mail
, which accuses the French border guards of "
sitting down and watching
" the migrants who attempt to cross. "
You let the gangs
[of smugglers, editor's note]
get away with a murder,
" regrets the tabloid.
Same story with the
Sun
, which denounces a "
shameful
"
drama
and also accuses the French police of remaining "
with folded arms
".
As for the
Daily Mirror
, it qualifies the shipwreck as a “
human tragedy
” which occurred “
under the noses of the French cops
”.
Finally, the I, little brother of
The Independent
, and
Metro are
not bothered with nuances and headline: "
Why did France not stop them?
".