French police round up migrants on coaches

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Footage from LBC showed French police escorting a group of migrants onto a coach who failed to cross the English Channel on Wednesday following the deaths of at least 27 people the same day. Some of the group were still wearing lifejackets as they entered the vehicles with officers looking on after French authorities were accused of not preventing boats from leaving their shores. Videos emerged this week of police not stopping migrants from journeying towards the UK as tensions flare between the UK and French Governments over who is responsible for policing the issue.

Footage showed a group of migrants being escorted onto buses at Calais station where they would be processed by French police.

The group attempted to make the perilous journey across the Channel on Wednesday evening which also saw 27 people die when a boat capsized.

French authorities have come under renewed pressure to crack down on the crossings with the video appearing to show a ramping up of duties to prevent further crossings.

ITV reporter Jonathan Swain revealed in a report that French police say it is “not their job” to stop boats from leaving their shores as there is a difficult legal line with what they can do.

He explained it was not illegal to leave the shore in the boat but it was illegal to enter the UK which would then be too late for police.

GB News also reported yesterday some boats deliberately cut their engine once they come across a boat in the Channel as it means they can be rescued by emergency services who can guarantee their arrival to the UK.

The Times reported around 40 migrants carried a 30ft dinghy into the waters of France’s northern coast with at least two officers watching a mere few yards away on Tuesday.

The event happened near Wimereux, just south of Calais, with Dover Tory MP Natalie Elphicke saying the French were “playing us for fools”.

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However, French politicians have tried to push the blame back onto the UK with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin saying the UK, along with Germany and Belgium, should do more about the issue.

Mr Damanin also told French media the UK needed to make itself less attractive to illegal migrants who want to stay in the country due to its benefits and labour market.

He said: “Those responsible for the tragedy which took place yesterday in the Channel are the smugglers, who for a few thousand euros promise El Dorado in England. The smugglers are criminals, this tragedy reminds us, painfully.”

En Marche MP Bruno Bonnell told the Today Programme he would support British troops helping the French monitor their borders to stop more boats entering the UK.

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However, he did not want to see it used as an opportunity to attack France and accuse them of ignoring their responsibilities.

Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont told BBC News he did not think it was practical to send more officers to the French coast as the nearly 200 miles of land was difficult to monitor.

“It only takes five to 10 minutes to take a boat and put it at sea filled with migrants, so I’m not sure it is only a question of money and the number of men.”

France has also been attacked for clearing migrant camps which have forced residents to make the journey to the UK.

While France offers asylum and shelter for these people, many would rather continue their plans and speed up their goal to cross the Channel.

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