© Andrew Aitchison
Photo d’illustration.
The number of shipwrecked migrants rescued off the coast of Calais who were taken in by the state tripled in 2021, a record year for attempted illegal crossings of the Channel, announced on Monday the French Immigration and Immigration Office. integration (Ofii).
“The number of people shipwrecked off Calais and sheltered was 1,002 in 2021”, against 341 in 2020, an increase of 194%, according to Ofii.
At the end of November, 27 migrants who were trying to reach the English coast aboard a makeshift boat were killed in the deadliest shipwreck on this seaway, sparking a wave of emotion as much as a resurgence of tensions between London and Paris on the matter migratory. Only two candidates for exile were survivors during this tragedy and are part of the thousand migrants taken care of last year.
Last year, more than 28,000 migrants made the perilous crossing of the English Channel aboard small boats to reach England. This is three times more than in 2020, had counted Wednesday, January 5 UK news agency PA. The phenomenon has developed strongly since 2018 in the face of the closure of the port of Calais and Eurotunnel that migrants used while hiding in vehicles.
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Families and “vulnerable” people
Meanwhile, the number of people living in makeshift settlements on the north coast hoping to cross to Britain and who have been “Sheltered and oriented in the national reception system was 31,103” last year, up 239% compared to 2020 (9,172), according to the French Office for Immigration and Integration on Monday. Among these exiles, the proportion of family members or “vulnerable” people doubled, from 1,158 to 2,273.
In total, highlights the Ofii, 9,779 accommodation places were offered in 2021, mainly in Hauts-de-France (98%) and 6,950 people were accommodated. This support represents “A financial effort which continues to increase”, said Ofii director general Didier Leschi.
The associations that come to the aid of migrants in the region, for their part, regularly accuse the authorities of carrying out a dissuasive policy on the coast: several activists, including Father Philippe, had observed a hunger strike between October and mid-November 2020 , to demand a moratorium on the almost daily dismantling of camps and denounce the treatment “inhuman” reserved for exiles.
“Not taking into account the efforts of the State to take charge of the complex situation in Calais is to participate in the hysterization of debates on immigration”, rejected Didier Leschi, who has been leading a mediation mission in Calais on behalf of the government since last October.