Nearly 1,000 migrants crossed the Strait of Pas de Calais to get to the United Kingdom aboard small makeshift boats on Saturday, the British Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.
According to official figures, 960 people made the perilous crossing aboard 20 boats, bringing the total number of crossings since the beginning of the year to more than 26,000.
Multiplication of crossings since 2018
The number of these crossings is on track to beat the 2021 record, when 28,500 people arrived on British soil. Such crossings have multiplied since 2018 in the face of the increasing lockdown of the French port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel.
A recent British parliamentary report estimated that the total might reach 60,000 this year despite repeated promises from the British Conservative government, which has made the subject a priority since Brexit. Millions are paid to France to help it strengthen the surveillance of the coasts and multiply the measures to harden the reception of migrants.
Busiest Detroit in the world
Saturday, it is the French maritime prefecture which communicated on 190 migrants intercepted or rescued, in less than 24 hours. They too were trying to cross the busiest strait in the world, aboard makeshift boats, risking their lives to reach Great Britain.
The French Ministry of the Interior recently estimated at 20,000 the number of candidates for exile who attempted the crossing between January 1 and June 13 (+68% compared to the same period in 2021).
