The tragedy sparked yet another row between Britain and France, two countries whose relations have become increasingly strained as a result of Brexit. On Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
publish a letter with French President Emmanuel Macron, proposing, among other things, an agreement “to allow all illegal migrants crossing the English Channel to return” – a suggestion the French had previously made rejected.
In response to growing pressure to intervene more aggressively, France said it would
improved surveillance of its northern shores. However, the video that aired SKY News on Thursday seems to show
French police are searching when a group of people was about to enter the treacherous waters of the canal.
Play politics
Sadly, the political situation on both sides of the funnel can make headlines but leaves little room for impactful resolution.
For Johnson, a former journalist who is a political guru, standing up against the French and pushing back against asylum seekers could benefit a government campaigning to regain control and sovereignty from the European Union. But it can be difficult to make a convincing case that Brexit improves sovereignty and border control issues when there are
more intersecting channels 2021 up to now compared to the same period in the last two years.
Meanwhile, the anti-immigration rhetoric of Brexit campaigners like Nigel Farage ignores data showing huge demand for increased migration in the UK, with
Labor shortage in some areas and
more than one million vacancies between July and September –
highest level since 2001.And for Macron, who faces re-election next year, pushing back an ally that has voluntarily left the EU and helping to push France’s submarine deal with Australia, creates useful fodder for the main interest. rule – especially in the ongoing dispute
French fishing license. He cannot be seen as the underdog here, with right-wing presidential candidate Eric Zemmour having grasped the issue to use it against Macron.
“The bilateral tensions you see are more or less a consequence of Brexit,” French political commentator Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet told me. “And refugees are the main victims.”
Before Brexit, the UK could send migrants to other countries under
Dublin Regulations that affirms a person’s asylum claim will be forwarded to the first EU member state he or she enters.
However, now that the UK has left the EU, the regulation no longer applies. Both Johnson and Macron now want to look like they’ve been on top after Brexit, while avoiding being hit by a third rail problem of immigration back home.
Smash the smugglers
Even at the best of times, the French and British response seemed little more than an amateur cat-and-mouse game with traffickers.
Canadian investigative journalist
Victor Malarek, who has written extensively on global human trafficking, said France and Britain not only needed to bury their differences, but also to adopt more creative tactics such as undercover operations or infiltrating gangs. to crack down on smuggling rings, which are getting more sophisticated.
Malarek said more resources need to be allocated to combat smuggling. “And when you catch the smugglers, you have to lower the hammer on them,” he told me, adding that the traffickers involved in Wednesday’s crossing were responsible for 27 migrants. dead.
On the plus side, the crisis has spawned new discussion about how to address the so-called factors that push people out of despair. More frequent and intense climate events and conflicts will only place more people in the dangerous web of smugglers.
“The reality is that desperate people do desperate things,” says Malarek.
France and Great Britain are allies and they must deal with this complex crisis in a way that is mutually acceptable and respectful of international humanitarian law and refugee agreements. “The main problem is that neither the British nor the French are willing to give in to anything,” Moreau-Chevrolet told me. A big risk for Johnson would be if the French released thousands of refugees into UK waters, because
Cubans did in the 1980s and like
What is Belarus doing now, said Moreau-Chevrolet.
With France already taking in more migrants than Britain each year, Johnson should provide more resources and more money
$72 million that it’s currently sending to help the French coast guard if he wants to stop the flow of migrants. Either way, the best option for both Johnson and Macron is to work together rather than trade sprawling across a body of water that is becoming a graveyard for too many of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Failure to do so could put Macron and Johnson in an inevitable position, no different from what
takes place between Poland and Belarus, where the leaders of both countries are blaming and
try come
Capitalization about the situation for what appears to be their own political gain, regardless of the consequences.
.
