More than 45,000 illegal immigrants reached the English coast illegally in 2022 by crossing the Channel on makeshift boats, a record figure reached despite successive plans by British Conservative governments to combat this politically sensitive phenomenon.
According to AFP calculations based on figures from the Ministry of Defense, 45,756 illegal immigrants made the dangerous crossing of one of the busiest sea crossings in the world, with very cold waters for much of the year, against only 28,526 in 2021, yet already a record year.
While most arrivals take place in the summer, with a daily record of 1,295 illegal immigrants arriving in 24 hours on August 22, they now continue into the winter months with 1,745 arrivals in December.
Last month was marked by the sinking of a dinghy carrying dozens of illegal immigrants from France in the early morning of December 14.
Four of them died, Afghans and Senegalese according to the first elements of the investigation, a toll that could have been much heavier: 39 others were rescued by a nearby fishing boat.
On the night of November 23 to 24, 2021, 27 illegal immigrants aged seven to 46 perished in the sinking of their inflatable boat.
The increasing lockdown of the port of Calais on the French side and of the Channel Tunnel has resulted in an explosion since 2018 in the number of Channel crossings in small boats.
The issue is highly sensitive for the British Conservatives who have been promising since Brexit to "
regain control
" of the borders, but despite the successive plans announced - two again this year - crossings continue to increase, completely overflowing the asylum system. the UK.
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In particular, London concluded an agreement this year, criticized by the UN, the Anglican Church and many organizations, with Rwanda to send immigrants who arrived illegally there, regardless of their origin, without waiting for their application to be examined. 'asylum.
The project was suspended before the summer by a decision of the European Court of Human Rights, but the government wants to relaunch it following a recent favorable decision by the British courts.
London has also signed cooperation agreements in recent months with France to strengthen controls there and with Albania, whose nationals have arrived in large numbers this year.
