France and the United Kingdom sign a new agreement to stop crossings through the English Channel

It has been a source of strong bilateral tension between the two neighboring nations for several years. France and the United Kingdom signed a cooperation agreement on November 14 aimed at stopping the flow of migrants through the English Channel.

The agreement, which is part of the Sandhurst Treaty signed in January 2018 between the two countries, specifically provides for the British to pay 72.2 million euros in 2022-2023 to France.

In exchange, the latter will increase its security forces by 40% (350 additional police and gendarmes, including reservists) on its beaches, from where migrants leave for the United Kingdom, according to the joint statement of the two countries.

The document, sealed Monday morning in Paris between French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and his British counterpart Suella Braverman, does not include any vessel interception targets, as London had hoped, according to British media.

“Only by working together can we hope to solve this complex problem. I wanted to thank Gérald and his team for their work and cooperation,” Braverman tweeted in French.

The pact comes at a time when both governments are under pressure over the issue of migration. On Sunday, Britain’s Defense Ministry said more than 40,000 migrants had crossed the English Channel since the start of the year, up from 28,526 in 2021, a new record.

The crossing is very dangerous due to the high maritime traffic, the bad weather that usually prevails in the area and the low temperature of the waters. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 200 people have died or disappeared, at sea or on land, trying to reach England from the north coast of France since 2014.

Improve communication and cooperation between the two countries

In the text, London and Paris set as their first objective the deployment of “technological and human means”, including drones, on the French coast to better detect, monitor and intercept vessels. The agreement also includes the financing of “detector dogs” in the ports and the installation of surveillance cameras at the main border crossings on the coast.

The two countries also want to collect and use intelligence information, particularly “from intercepted migrants,” to better dismantle smuggling networks and decrease crossings, working together “as high up as possible,” in collaboration with countries of origin and transit of exiles In order to achieve these three objectives, a dozen actions aimed at “a more integrated and effective approach” are listed.

For the first time, teams of observers embarked on ships will be deployed on both sides of the English Channel to “strengthen common understanding” between the two countries, “improve the development of interrogations of migrants” and “increase information exchanges “.

“Offer safe alternatives” to migrants

Reception centers for migrants will also be created in the south of France to discourage exiles crossing the Mediterranean from returning to Calais and “offer them safe alternatives” in the long term.

While the former British ambassador to France says the agreement is “good news” since “the only way to control the problem is to work with the French”, the British NGO Refugee Council regrets that it “does not address the factors that drive men , women and children to undertake perilous journeys to the UK”. The Franco-British agreement “will therefore do little to stop the crossings,” the organization concluded on Twitter.

The signing of the text comes almost a year after 27 people of Kurdish-Iraqi and Kurdish-Iranian origin died on November 24, 2021 when their boat sank off the coast of Calais, the worst tragedy recorded in the English Channel.

Years of disputes over the immigration issue

London has regularly criticized Paris for not doing enough to stop this phenomenon, while the French side blames the British legislation because it has a pull effect on irregular migrants.

The joint work of both countries prevented the passage of 23,000 people in 2021 and more than 30,000 so far in 2022. 55 criminal networks of human trafficking have been dismantled with more than 500 detainees and 140 guilty verdicts in court, according to official figures.

After years of disputes, sometimes virulent, over the migration issue, especially when Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were prime ministers, the new British executive has adopted a more conciliatory tone with the French government, advocating a more “constructive” relationship.

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s new Conservative Party prime minister, has made immigration control a priority since Brexit, but he is facing the exponential curve of illegal crossings.

On the French side, Gérald Darmanin, accused by the right and the extreme right of not deporting enough foreigners with a ban on entering the country, will present a bill in early 2023 to toughen asylum procedures.

“We are intercepting much more than before (more than 30,000 migrants to date in 2022, compared to 22,600 in 2021)” and “we are devoting 255 million euros” to securing the coasts, it is argued from the French side.

With AFP and EFE