Migrant crisis: France rejects the proposal for joint patrols with the United Kingdom

He refuses the presence of British security forces on the French coast.

Prime Minister Jean Castex rejected in a letter to his British counterpart Boris Johnson his proposal for "joint patrols" on French soil in order to prevent the departure of migrants to Great Britain.

“We have always agreed to look and discuss in good faith UK proposals for enhanced cooperation.

We have accepted some, we have declined others, ”writes Jean Castex in this text, which AFP has had a copy of.

“We cannot accept, for example, that British police or military patrol our shores;

our sovereignty is at stake, ”he emphasizes.

Boris Johnson made this proposal during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on November 25, the day after a shipwreck in the Channel that left 27 dead.

Jean Castex wants a "lasting" response

It also appeared in a letter from Boris Johnson to Emmanuel Macron, the publication of which by the British government ulcerated Paris and caused a new crisis between the two countries. In his letter Boris Johnson also proposed to France "a bilateral readmission agreement to allow the return of all illegal migrants crossing the Channel". "Returning migrants is not an option for us, it is not a serious or responsible way to approach the issue," a source told AFP in Matignon on condition of anonymity.

“More than 700 police officers and gendarmes survey the Côte d'Opale (north) every day, to prevent makeshift boats from setting out to sea” towards England, indicates Jean Castex in his letter.

"Some of these operations are carried out with the financial contribution of your government, in accordance with our cooperation agreements," he recalls.

Read also Why do so many migrants dream of joining the United Kingdom?

"However, these efforts only make it possible to contain the phenomenon, not to provide a lasting response," said the French Prime Minister, calling on Great Britain to conduct "a more effective return policy" and to open "avenues of legal immigration to those who have legitimate reasons for wanting to go ”to this country.