“Strong emotion at the tragedy of several deaths due to the overturning of an immigrant boat in the English Channel,” wrote the head of the portfolio, Gérald Darmanin on Twitter.
The provisional balance later rose to “more than 20 dead,” French police told AFP news agency.
The shipwreck occurred amid record numbers of immigrants who are crossing into the UK.
More than 1,000 immigrants arrived sailing to the island on Monday, breaking a new daily record.
So far this year, more than 23,000 people crossed the English Channel to the UK by boat, a marked increase from 8,400 in 2020.
The British government accused France of failing to control the situation, and this week Home Affairs Minister Priti Patel described the number of irregular immigrants leaving the Gallic country as “unacceptable”.
The French Interior Ministry, for its part, assured that it is fulfilling its commitments to prevent the departure of small boats, with more than 600 policemen and gendarmes guarding the north coast 24 hours a day.
France says it has increased its success rate in stopping crossings, with 62.5% of departures stopped in 2021, up from 50% last year.
Source From: Ambito
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