Five migrants died during the night from Saturday to Sunday in Pas de Calais. Mayors urge London and Paris to find solutions.
Five migrants died in France on the night of Saturday to Sunday as they tried to reach a boat in freezing water to cross the Channel, the first deadly tragedy of 2024 off the French coast.
The prefect of Pas-de-Calais recalled on social grounds that the main culprits are the smugglers… But for Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Portel, London and Paris must find solutions:
“we, the mayors, are really helpless. We are there to follow, we are there to provide clothes, to provide this communal and national solidarity, but behind it, we are completely powerless. I think we will really have to find something. solutions between France and England”.
The Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office specified that the boat had been launched with 12 to 15 passengers on board. Other people were also about to board, but ultimately had to cancel their departure due to the swell and the rising tide. A French rescue boat managed to save 32 people.
In an interview with American television on Sunday, Pope Francis insisted that migrants should not find themselves facing closed doors and stressed the need to help them in countries.