PARIS (VG) An international summit in the northern French city of Calais on Sunday will attempt to end death journeys across the English Channel. But the British Home Secretary is no longer welcome.
France was so offended by Britain that it withdrew the invitation just days before the meeting.
I’m surprised when things aren’t done in a serious way.
On Friday, President Emmanuel Macron targeted his British counterpart, Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
In the wake of the English Channel tragedy on Wednesday, relations between the two neighboring countries soured.
At least 27 people drowned while trying to cross from Calais, northern France, to Dover weak rubber boat.
Among them were 17 men, three children and seven women Maryam (24 years old) who wanted to be reunited with her fiancé in the UK.
It was the worst shipwreck in the English Channel, but far from the first.
Messages posted on Twitter
trying every day Desperate people who dream of a better life To travel from France to the UK in crowded boats.
France calls, Sunday, for an international summit to stop the life-threatening crossings – without the British.
The reason is what the French president regards a British diplomat on Twitter as “unwelcome”.
We do not communicate from one leader to another about these topics with Twitter messages and messages that we publish publicly. We are not a whistleblower. Come on, Macron said during a press conference in Italy on Friday.
The day before, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted an open letter on Twitter. Here he has outlined a plan for how France could improve border security on its part.
I asked France to “take back” the migrants
Joint border patrols, maritime surveillance in both directions, increased use of high-tech sensors, as well as closer bilateral security cooperation were among the measures proposed by the British prime minister.
In addition, Johnson wrote that France should “take back” illegal immigrants who come to Britain.
In this way, France can “significantly reduce – if not stop – turnover, and save thousands of lives by breaking the business model of criminal gangs,” the prime minister said.
The letter infuriated the French.
Weak and inappropriate
– French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said in an interview with the TV channel, that it is a weak message in terms of content and completely inappropriate in terms of form. BFM Friday.
– He added: We are tired of the British speaking two languages and trying to outsource the problem.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called the letter a “disappointment”, according to AFP.
“Its publication made matters worse,” the French Interior Minister quoted a message to his British counterpart as saying, according to the French news agency.
– So I have to cancel our meeting in Calais on Sunday.
1 of 2Photo: Christophe Ena / AP
British promise continued cooperation
Thus, ministers from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the European Union are meeting in Calais to solve the problem on the English Channel – without the British Home Secretary Priti Patel.
However, the UK maintains that it will have people at the meeting, even if the Home Secretary is not present in person.
For her part, Patel promised to continue working towards increasing European cooperation in the next week.
Failure to do so may result in worse scenes in icy waters during the coming winter monthsAccording to the Minister of the Interior BBC.
Aid organizations are pessimistic
Trafficking in human beings tops the agenda of the meeting. Interpol and Frontex – the European Union agency that takes care of the union’s borders, with Norway involved through the Schengen cooperation – are also involved, according to the Le Figaro.
But aid organizations on the French side are pessimistic.
When the government accuses smugglers, it is a way to hide its responsibilityFrancois Genoc, head of the aid organization Auberge de Migrants, told AFP.
They warn that an escalation of border security will make the situation worse.
– People will try to cross, anyway, but under more insecure conditions, the co-chair of the aid organization Utopia56, Christel Chateau, told VG by phone earlier this week.
Read more about human tragedies in the English Channel here:
Britain’s life-threatening dreamMaryam, 24, drowned in the English Channel: – Where are her human rights?This was the drama of the English Channel: – Mayday, Midi
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