In a letter to his British counterpart Boris Johnson, French Prime Minister Jean Castex rejected the UK's initiative to conduct joint patrols to combat illegal migrants trying to cross the English Channel, AFP reported, citing the document.
"We cannot allow, for example, British police or the military to patrol our shores," the agency quoted Castex as saying. According to him, patrolling the coast of France is the sovereignty of Paris and no one else.
At the same time, Castex stressed that the French side is always ready to discuss various proposals from the United Kingdom related to strengthening cooperation. "We have accepted some [initiatives], others we have rejected," he said.
The problem of illegal migrants trying to reach the United Kingdom by boat from France to the United Kingdom has escalated again after a boat carrying fifty illegal migrants sank in the Calais area last week. About 30 people died in the accident.
French law enforcement authorities have detained five people suspected of organizing the transfer of migrants to the United Kingdom. The prosecutor's office has launched an investigation.
Earlier, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen said that since the beginning of 2021, French rescue and border services have rescued 7.8 thousand illegal immigrants who were trying to cross the English Channel to the United Kingdom.
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