At least 828 migrants crossed the Channel on Saturday August 21 to reach the English coast. This is a new daily record.
At least 828 migrants have crossed the Channel on Saturday to win the English coast, reported Monday, August 23 evening, the Ministry British Interior, a new daily record with more than 12,000 the number of people who made the dangerous crossing this year .
The previous daily record - 592 arrivals - in August is largely exceeded.
More than 12,000 people since the start of the year
If the ministry does not communicate a cumulative report, according to the count of the British press agency PA, more than 12,400 people have crossed the Strait, one of the busiest in the world, since the start of the year. aboard small boats, which is much more than during the whole of last year (more than 8,000).
The Interior Ministry said it had, with the collaboration of the French authorities, prevented more than 10,000 attempted crossings this year and made nearly 300 arrests since July 2020. On Saturday, 193 people were intercepted before the crossing, according to London.
102 migrants rescued by France
In France, the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea had indicated on Saturday that 102 migrants had been rescued at sea in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais as they tried to reach England.
The question of crossings is regularly the source of friction between London and Paris, but the United Kingdom pledged at the end of July to pay France 62.7 million euros in 2021-2022 to finance the strengthening of the presence of French security forces on the coasts.
The British Parliament began before the summer recess to pass Home Secretary Priti Patel's reform of the asylum system, marking a tightening promised under Brexit.
Sanctions
Presented by the minister as "fair but firm" but denounced by associations for the defense of human rights, it aims to discourage illegal immigration and plans to treat asylum seekers differently depending on whether they have arrived in the country legally or illegally.
The bill plans to increase to four years, from six months currently, the prison sentence incurred by migrants seeking to enter the country illegally and bring to life imprisonment - from the current 14 years of imprisonment - the maximum penalty incurred by smugglers.