More than 45,000 migrants illegally reached English shores in 2022 by crossing the Channel on makeshift boats, a record figure reached despite successive plans by British Conservative governments to combat this politically sensitive phenomenon.
Some 45,756 migrants who crossed the Channel in 2022. This is unheard of, and by far. For comparison, in 2021, yet already a record year, less than 30,000 migrants had ventured to make this dangerous crossing which represents one of the busiest sea crossings in the world, with very cold waters for a large part of the year.
Summer and winter crossings
While most arrivals take place in the summer, with a daily record of 1,295 migrants arriving in 24 hours on August 22, they now continue into the winter months with 1,745 arrivals in December.
Last month was marked by the sinking of a dinghy carrying dozens of migrants from France in the early morning of December 14. Four of them diedAfghans and Senegalese according to the first elements of the investigation, a toll that could have been much heavier: 39 others were rescued by a nearby fishing boat.
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On the night of November 23 to 24, 2021, 27 migrants aged between seven and 46 perished in the sinking of their inflatable boat.
” Take back control ” borders
The increasing lockdown of the port of Calais on the French side and of the Channel Tunnel has resulted in an explosion since 2018 in the number of Channel crossings in small boats
The dossier is highly sensitive for the British Conservatives who have been promising since Brexit to “ regain control of the borders, but despite the successive plans announced – two again this year – the crossings continue to increase, completely overflowing the system of asylum applications in the United Kingdom.
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In particular, this year London concluded an agreement, criticized by the UN, the Anglican Church and many organizations, with Rwanda to send migrants who arrived illegally there, whatever their origin, without waiting for the examination of their request for ‘asylum.
London wants to send migrants to Rwanda
The project was suspended before the summer by a decision of the European Court of Human Rights, but the government wants to relaunch it following a recent favorable decision of the British justice.
London has also signed cooperation agreements in recent months with France to strengthen controls there and with Albania, whose nationals have arrived in large numbers this year.
(With AFP)