As an agreement for the return to France of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Britain in small boats is being haltingly implemented, an undiminished number of people are attempting the cross-Channel journey and taking advantage of stable weather.
On Friday a migrant was expelled from Britain after losing a High Court challenge, the second person to be sent back to France under the “one in one out” pilot scheme agreed by both governments over the summer.
The removal is a small victory for Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the first returns under the UK-France deal were stymied this week by legal challenges.
But undeterred about the risk of such removals, dozens of migrants gathered on a northern French beach Friday, hoping to catch a ride on one of the boats cruising along the coast to pick up passengers.
Police, who have made their presence felt along the northern French coast in the last months, were unusually nowhere to be seen on this early morning.
People-smugglers, who typically charge thousands of euros per passenger, shouted orders at the group, whose members were mostly from Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan and Vietnam, an AFP correspondent said.
At their first attempt, over half of them managed to climb aboard, while the others returned to the dunes, wet, cold and disappointed.
A similar scene played out twice more near the coastal town of Gravelines. Of the around 150 hopefuls, 60 managed to get a ride, according to an estimate by the AFP reporters at the scene.
– ‘Beyond politics’ –
Since the start of the year, a record 31,000 clandestine passengers have arrived in England via the Channel.
At least 23 died during the crossings this year, and three have been missing since last week. No arrivals in the UK were recorded earlier this week due to windy weather but this is set to change as more stable and sunny conditions set in.
By comparison the number of people sent back to France so far — only two — appears little more than a drop in the ocean.
The first migrant, an Indian man, was returned to France on Thursday under the new deal, which is to run until June 2026 and has already attracted much criticism, especially from NGOs.
The accord “won’t work because the driving force behind immigration goes beyond politics”, said Serge Slama, a law professor specialising in migration.
People applying for refugee status because they are fleeing persecution “have no other choice than to use irregular means to seek asylum, because the regular path is closed”, he said.
Around 92 migrants have been placed in detention in the UK with a view to being expelled, according to British media reports.
The first migrants authorised to enter Britain from France are to arrive in the coming days, according to the Home Office.
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