Tragedies follow one another off the coast of the Opal Coast, as migrants attempt to reach England. The smugglers are singled out. Migration policies on both sides of the Channel are also at issue.
At the beginning of September, twelve migrants, ten women and two men, half of whom were minors, lost their lives after a shipwreck off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez. Their frail 7 meter long boat on which they were trying to cross the Channel broke up with 65 people on board. Only eight of them had life jackets.
“It was windy, there were a lot of waves. And it was a small boat. Then something happened. Within four or five minutes the boat was completely destroyed and sank. All the people were fighting to survive and we lost a lot of people”told an Eritrean castaway to AFP. This is, to date, the worst shipwreck of the year 2024, already very deadly with 37 people drowned.
A record number of crossings since the start of 2024
Illegal crossings of the Channel to England, over the first six months, numbered nearly 22,000 migrant arrivals. As soon as he came to power in July, British Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he wanted to speed up the processing of asylum seeker files, while toughening the fight against smugglers.
“Discussions with the new British government should make it possible to harmonize migration policies. We must dismantle these criminal networks through cooperation”considers the mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Frédéric Cuvillier.
“France and England must recognize the Channel as a humanitarian emergency zone”declares for its part the Utopia 56 association which helps exiled people and people on the street.
The sole responsibility of smugglers?
For Frédéric Cuvillier, “ this tragedy can be explained by the action of networks and gangs of criminals whose operating mode has evolved as protection measures have been put in place, interventions are carried out with small boats which make it possible to thwart all surveillance since it is launched from the coast, regardless of weather conditions”.
Are smugglers the only ones to blame for these repeated tragedies? According to Ève-Marie Dubiez, member of the CFDT Retraités and member of the Aide migrants solidarité association, “we can always blame this on criminal smugglers who take advantage of the misery and distress of migrants. But this situation is the consequence of the government's migration policy. »
And to denounce the militarization of the coast around Calais, the starting point for crossing the Channel, and the failure of the fight against the crossing networks: “This repressive policy is dangerous and ineffective. Most migrants have fled a country where there is war, where they are victims of repression. Added to this are deplorable living conditions. There are sometimes three showers for every five hundred people. To escape all this, migrants see in smugglers a salvation towards an El Dorado, by attempting a dangerous crossing, no matter the price it may cost. »
The job market in England, less regulated than in France, and the English language attract migrants. Many come from Commonwealth countries or have family across the Channel.
“We tell them that the crossing is extremely dangerous. But it's no use. They face the odds, after everything they have endured… We are not fools. They won't stop here.”deplores Olivier Ternisien, of the migrant aid association Osmose 62.
[Jean-PierreDruelle[Jean-PierreDruelle
