France lashes out at Britain’s ideas on dealing with flow of migrants across English Channel
- French President Emmanuel Macron ‘surprised by methods when they are not serious’ as the two countries clash yet again
- Their relationship has been increasingly difficult in the wake of Britain leaving the EU after Brexit; they are also arguing about fishing licences
President Emmanuel Macron scolded the office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for making public a letter that the British leader sent to the French leader on Thursday. Most notably, Johnson proposed that France take back migrants who illegally cross the English Channel, an idea that France quickly and summarily dismissed.
“I am surprised by methods when they are not serious,” Macron said during a visit to Italy. “You don’t communicate from a leader to another on these matters via tweets and letters that are made public. We are not whistle-blowers.”
“Come on, come on,” Macron added.
27 migrants die in deadliest Channel boat tragedy between France and UK
Asked at a daily media briefing if Johnson regretted sending and then sharing the letter on social media, his spokesman said “no”.
“As the PM (prime minister) has said himself, both he and President Macron have a shared recognition of the urgency of the situation we’re both facing,” he said. “You’ll see from the tone of the letter this is about deepening our existing cooperation and building on the work that’s already been done between our two countries, which the PM in the letter paid tribute to.”
The letter and France’s response were the latest crossing of swords in what has become an increasingly fractious relationship between the erstwhile European partners who are struggling to rebuild a working relationship in the wake of Britain’s exit from the EU.
They are arguing not only about migration but also about their post-Brexit agreements, including regulating fishing in waters where British and French boats both work.
Adding to the climate of tension were blockades that French fishing crews were planning on Friday of French ports and traffic via the Channel Tunnel to disrupt the flow of goods to the U.K and increase pressure on Britain for more post-Brexit fishing licenses.
The spat over Johnson’s letter had an immediate, concrete repercussion: Macron’s government spokesman said Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel was no longer welcome at a meeting on Sunday of European ministers who will explore ways to crack down on migrant-smuggling networks.
Poland says Belarus sending migrants back to border after clearing camps
The spokesman, Gabriel Attal, portrayed Johnson’s proposals as duplicitous, saying the letter “doesn’t correspond at all” with discussions that Johnson and Macron had on Wednesday after the sinking of an inflatable craft laden with migrants, the deadliest migrant tragedy to date in the English Channel.
“We are sick of doublespeak,” Attal said.
He dismissed the proposal that France take back migrants who cross illegally from French shores to Britain as “clearly not what we need to solve this problem”.
Johnson also set out proposals that France has already rejected for British border officials to begin patrols on the beaches of northern France as early as next week. He also recommended joint or reciprocal maritime patrols in each other’s territorial waters and airborne surveillance by manned flights and drones.
Greece adjourns trial of 24 volunteers who helped migrants reach Lesbos
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Johnson made the proposals in “good faith”. He urged France to reconsider the decision to disinvite Patel to Sunday’s ministers’ meeting. They are convening in Calais, one of the French coastal towns where migrants gravitate in their attempts to get across the busy stretch of sea separating France and Britain. It was also one of the ports being targeted on Friday for blockades by French fishermen.
“I don’t think there is anything inflammatory to ask for close cooperation with our nearest neighbours,” Shapps said. “The proposal was made in good faith. I can assure our French friends of that and I hope that they will reconsider meeting up to discuss it.”
Others in Johnson’s Conservative Party were less conciliatory.
A new place to call home: Hong Kong migrants in northern England
Tim Loughton, a lawmaker from Johnson’s Conservative Party, accused France of being petulant in its response to Johnson’s letter.
“The French have got to get real and recognise there are consequences from turning a blind eye rather than stopping the migrant boats at source and those consequences are tragedies like the one two days ago,” he said on Twitter. “Partnership working is the only way to find a solution not petulance.”
The deaths of 27 men, women and children in the dangerous waterway have brought to a head long-simmering French-British tensions that have sharpened in recent months.
Gang busted for smuggling 77 Pakistanis in 86 sq ft truck into EU
UK officials have criticised France for rejecting their offer of British police and border officers to conduct joint patrols along the channel coast with French police. French authorities accuse Britain of stoking migration by ignoring the use by British employers of clandestine workers who crossed the Channel illegally.
More than 23,000 people have already entered the UK on small boats this year, up from 8,500 last year and just 300 in 2018, according to data compiled by the British Parliament.
