In the space of a week, more than 1,100 illegal immigrants crossed the Channel from France to the United Kingdom, breaking the record for the number of migrants disembarked in a single day since the beginning of the year. In addition, a French military ship, whose female watch officer spoke poor English and made a mistake in calculating the distance, forced a ferry into a very dangerous maneuver in order to escort illegal immigrants.
New Immigration Record in The Channel
The announcements of the British Conservative government on immigration have so far had no impact on the desire of illegal immigrants to reach the United Kingdom by sea from the French coasts. If the executive presented a new bill on March 7 to toughen its migration policy by limiting access to asylum, the landing of migrants on the English coasts has continued in recent days.
Thus, between April 4 and 10, more than 1,100 illegal immigrants crossed the Channel aboard 26 boats that sailed from the coast of northern France according to figures from the British Ministry of the Interior. Worse, Wednesday April 5 broke the record for the number of illegal immigrants landed in 24 hours since the start of 2023 with 492 migrants reaching the English coast aboard 11 skiffs.
In addition, London indicated on April 5 that the United Kingdom planned to use a barge at the quay in a port on the English south coast to accommodate 500 asylum seekers in order to no longer requisition hotels and accommodation centers and thus reduce costs for UK taxpayers. A measure which was also supposed to deter candidates for illegal Channel crossings.
Ironically, the number of migrants arriving in the United Kingdom over the past week thus represents more than double the capacity of the barge in question…
The Rwanda Plan Still Pending
On the other hand, in addition to this barge, the British Home Office has already announced the establishment of three sites, including two former military bases and a former prison, which will be used as accommodation for illegal immigrants arriving in the United Kingdom. . Accommodations located in Lincolnshire, Essex and East Sussex.
As for the plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda announced by the British government several months ago, it is still blocked and is currently awaiting a decision from the Court of Appeal, which should be taken this month.
As for the months to come, the British authorities are pessimistic about the migratory pressure on the English coasts. On February 7, the British daily Daily Mail, citing official sources, indicated that these same authorities anticipated a potential doubling of the number of migrants crossing the Channel in 2023 with a forecast of 80,000 illegal immigrants arriving by the end of the year. .
In The Channel, The Dangerous Error of a Female Officer of The French Navy
Among the many migrant boat crossings in the English Channel observed in recent days, a French military vessel was behind a particularly dangerous maneuver on Easter Sunday, as reported by the British daily Daily Express.
Indeed, the warship, the A602 Loire, forced a P&O Ferries ferry to make a “dangerous” course change because the French Navy wanted to transfer 90 illegal immigrants to a British Border Force ship. The latter must then drive the migrants to the port of Dover.
The maneuver in question took place in thick fog, shortly before 10:30 a.m. According to the British press, the warship’s female officer told the ferry’s watch officer in broken English: “I am currently ahead of you at three nautical miles. I am about to start the operation with two small migrant boats and the Border Force Typhoon. Is it possible for you to round to port? “.
Problem, the P&O Ferries company officer noted that the military woman behind the request had miscalculated the distance, which was actually five nautical miles. The ferry finally diverted to starboard before docking in the port of Calais.
This article is originally published on breizh-info.com
