Photo shows the British Royal navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) HMS Mersey departing from her home port of Portsmouth, southern England. — AFP photo
PARIS: The French government announced an ‘action plan’ Friday to counter attempts by migrants to cross the Channel to Britain by sea, which it promises will end a phenomenon that has alarmed the Conversative government in London.
An increase in crossings by asylum-seekers, mostly Iranians, has led Home Secretary Sajid Javid to declare a “major incident” with the government under pressure to provide a response.
“This plan should enable us to end these crossings,” French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner was quoted as saying in the statement on Friday, adding that they were “not only illegal but also extremely dangerous.
“It’s in our interest, as well as the UK’s, to do everything to prevent new networks (of people smugglers) developing which would likely attract irregular migrants to our shores again,” it added.
The plan will see stepped-up police patrols around ports where some migrants have attempted to steal boats, as well as surveillance of beaches where dinghies have been launched from.
A British navy ship was patrolling the Channel on Friday in addition to four other British coastguard boats which watch over the 33 kilometres of sea that separate France and Britain at its narrowest point.
France has already doubled the number of coastguard boats in the Channel to two-four per night depending on the weather, a spokeswoman for French marine operations in the area told AFP this week.
The new French measures will be in addition to a joint action plan announced on Dec 31 by the French and British government, according to the statement from the French interior ministry.
Castaner is to travel to London soon to discuss this joint plan, which is expected to include combined operations at sea and greater intelligence sharing about smuggler networks. — AFP