The collaboration between Britain and France doesn’t seem to come naturally, since the countries have fought literally dozens of wars against each other, from 12th-century ‘Hundred-Years War’ up until the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th century.
Recently, besides their joined efforts in Ukraine’s proxy war, the foes-turned-allies are trying to collaborate in the tackling of the mass invasion of the British Isles by illegals crossing the French Channel in small inflatable boats.
Trying, and failing.
The number of migrant crossing spiked, despite the French receiving almost half a billion Sterling Pounds to keep the boats from departing, causing uproar in Britain.
Now, France promises (again) to devise a plan in six weeks to finally start intercepting migrant ‘taxi boats’.
French interior ministry sources say they will ‘target boats within 300 meters of the beaches to stop them leaving for the UK loaded with migrants’.
The Telegraph reported:
“The strategy aims to be ready for the Franco-British summit, which begins on July 8, when Emmanuel Macron, the French president, will travel to London for a state visit.
France is expanding its naval forces with six new patrol boats that will not only rescue migrants but could also intercept the “taxi boats” before they leave for the UK. The first of the boats, the 46-metre-long Rozel, which is capable of carrying 20 paramilitary police officers, known as gendarmes, has already been put to sea.”
Earlier this week, Secretary Yvette Cooper demanded that the French start intercepting migrant boats at sea ‘as swiftly as possible’.
No less than 1,195 migrants reached the UK in 19 inflatable boats just on Saturday. The total so far this year rose to 14,812 – the highest on record.
“There has been growing frustration at the apparent foot dragging by the French who so far this year have stopped fewer than 40 per cent of the boats, the lowest proportion on record, despite a three-year £480 million Anglo-French deal to combat the crossings.
Ms. Cooper wants French border police and gendarmes to intercept the taxi boats not only in the shallow waters as they leave the beaches but also when they make their way from rivers and inland waterways to pick up the migrants. With heatwaves forecast this summer, there are concerns of a further record migrant surge.”
French claim maritime laws prevent them from taking action that could put lives at sea at risk, but vow to change this framework to operate in shallow waters and stop the ‘taxi boats’, while respecting the principles of the ‘United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’.
“Officials are still working on the practicalities of any operations, including whether they should be armed and wearing body armor when they engage the boats. They anticipate they could face a violent backlash from the migrants and people smugglers. On Saturday, two gendarmes were injured when migrants stoned them as they tried to stop a boat from setting sail.”
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