Doha: French authorities announced today that 185 migrants were rescued in French territorial waters over the past 24 hours while attempting to cross the English Channel to reach England on unregistered boats. Two operations carried out on Friday led to the rescue of 81 individuals aboard a vessel that had departed from the French coast in the Bay of Somme in northern France, while 80 others requested urgent help after their boat sustained damage off the coast of Equihen-Plage, also in the north, the French police said in a statement. Later, from Friday night into dawn Saturday, 24 additional migrants were rescued from a boat attempting to cross from the Slack Dunes area in northern France, while other passengers aboard the same vessel decided to continue their journey despite the risks.
According to Qatar News Agency, UK Home Office data indicates that no small boats, used for vessels involved in irregular crossings, reached British shores on Friday. Despite France’s reinforced measures to prevent these dangerous attempts, supported by substantial financial backing from the UK, crossings continue unabated. Over 36,300 migrants have reached England since the beginning of January, approaching the record figure of 37,600 migrants during the same period in 2022. Official French data confirms that at least 27 migrants have been killed this year while attempting to cross the French-British border via irregular routes.
In August, the UK and France signed a new migration agreement, which came into force, establishing a one-for-one migrant exchange, the UK would return one migrant in exchange for accepting another legally from France. However, this arrangement, widely criticized by human rights organizations, remains largely symbolic and of limited practical impact, failing to deter migrants from attempting to cross the English Channel illegally.