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Boris Johnson has again called on France to agree to joint patrols along its coasts, and Emmanuel Macron is urging the UK not to politicize the flow of migrants.
British and French leaders are blaming each other after at least 27 people were killed across the English Channel in the deadliest incident in the current migration crisis, the British write. guardian.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a telephone conversation with Boris Johnson on Wednesday evening, emphasized the “shared responsibility” of France and the United Kingdom and told Johnson that he expected full cooperation and that the situation should not be used for “political purposes”. Elysee said.
It is believed that 34 people were on board when it sank on Wednesday.
According to the International Organization for Migration, this is the largest loss of life on the channel since it began collecting data in 2014. Two survivors are being treated in the intensive care unit.
Macron also called for an extraordinary meeting of European government ministers and an immediate increase in the budget of the European Union’s border agency, Frontex. The French government is holding an extraordinary meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the next steps.
France will not allow the canal to become a cemetery
Macron said.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has suggested talks with the UK, saying “Britain also needs a response”.
Britain’s lower house of parliament will hold a debate on Thursday on “the number of illegal immigrants arriving in the UK by boat,” according to the recently announced parliamentary timetable.
Cover image source: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
