Boats and equipment used for migratory crossings to the English coasts were discovered Thursday during the evacuation of a camp of a hundred migrants located not far from the beach in Sangatte, said the prefecture of Pas-de- Calais.
Read alsoChannel: rescue of 138 migrants trying to reach England
“For several weeks, a hundred migrants had been illegally installed on the site of the Royal Dike“, Occupations”causing serious problems of public safety, health and tranquility“, According to a press release from the prefecture. Following an expulsion order issued on December 16, an evacuation operation was carried out on Thursday, preceded by marauding “to offer interested migrants shelter in various reception and accommodation centers in Pas-de-Calais“.
76 shelters and 16 arrests
“During this operation, four boats (zodiac type), three engines, as well as oars, life jackets and gasoline were discovered“, what “shows the importance of this type of action in the fight against mafia smuggling networks“, Detailed the prefecture. On all the residents of the camp, at midday, “76 people were taken care of and sheltered in different accommodation structures located in the Pas-de-Calais department and outside” while “16 people were arrested for verification of the right to stay», She added. The prefecture recalled that these centers, “within which can be studied»The administrative situation of migrants«are located outside Calais in order to prevent the reconstitution of important camps, which would very quickly become unhealthy and places of all traffic“.
The authorities claim on the northern coast of France to fight against everything “attachment point»Migration, while crossings of the Channel on board small boats reached a record number in 2021, to more than 28,000 people, according to the British press agency PA. The phenomenon, which has developed strongly since 2018 in the face of the closure of the port of Calais and Eurotunnel, which migrants used to hide in vehicles, is poisoning relations between London and Paris. At least 34 people were killed in these crossings, including at least 27 on November 24 in the worst tragedy on this migratory route.