Three migrants have been reported missing after trying to canoe from France to England during a record day of crossings on Thursday that was described as “unacceptable” by the British government.
The French coastguard was alerted to the disappearances by two survivors, who were rescued on Thursday morning shortly before two canoes washed up near the northern port of Calais, French authorities said on Friday.
More than 1,000 people made the trip across the Channel on Thursday — a new record figure — during cold but calm weather.
Several UK newspapers blamed France and particularly President Emmanuel Macron, with the Daily Mail running the headline “Macron’s Migrant Shambles”.
“The number of illegal migrants we have seen departing from France today is unacceptable,” said a spokesman from the British interior ministry late on Thursday.
“The British public have had enough of seeing people die in the Channel while ruthless criminal gangs profit from their misery.”
An unnamed source told the Times newspaper UK interior minister Priti Patel would be “raising this abject failure in the strongest possible terms” with the French government.
Relations between France and Britain are fraught with a host of disagreements on issues ranging from migrants to fishing in the Channel, as well as a submarine contract with Australia.
– Dire conditions –
The number of Channel crossings has exploded in recent years, with desperate migrants and asylum seekers attempting the sea route to Britain instead of hiding away in trucks or cars.
French police and coastguard say they face a difficult task trying to monitor hundreds of kilometres of rugged coastline with limited resources.
They have a policy of not intercepting boats once they are in the water, judging any attempt to stop the dingies too dangerous because of the risk of panic or sudden movements that could capsize the vessels.
Three people have been died and four have disappeared during Channel crossings in 2021, including the latest incidents, while 29,360 people have attempted to reach England by sea, according to French figures.
Many migrants live in abject conditions around Calais and other northern ports, often sleeping rough and depending on handouts from local charities.
“Normally at the start of winter, the numbers tend to fall but that’s not the case this year,” said Francois Guennoc, head of local charity l’Auberge des Migrants.
He estimated that there were around 1,500 in Calais and around 1,000 further north near Dunkirk, as well as several hundred more elsewhere.
Patel agreed with her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin to fund French policing to the tune of 62.7 million euros ($73.8 million), adding to hundreds of millions provided by Britain over the 15 years to boost border security around Calais and other French ports.
The ferry and train terminals around Calais are protected with five-metre fences topped with razor wire, while the port is equipped with full-truck scanners and even heart-beat detectors to identify stowaways.
