Issued on:
The interior ministers of France and Britain on Sunday signed an agreement creating a new joint police intelligence unit to combat migrant traffickers and reduce the "unsustainable" numbers crossing the Channel illegally.
Advertising
Read more
France's new Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and his British counterpart Priti Patel met on Sunday in Calais in northern France, a regio where migrants have traditionally gathered in a bid to find a way to get to Britain.
"We signed a new agreement to create a joint intelligence cell which will crack down on gangs behind vile people smuggling operation," Patel wrote on Twitter after the meeting.
She said they had discussed "the unsustainable levels of illegal migration across the Channel."
Pleased to meet newly appointed French Interior Minister @GDarmanin to discuss the unsustainable levels of illegal migration across the Channel.
We signed a new agreement to create a joint intelligence cell which will crack down on gangs behind vile people smuggling operation. pic.twitter.com/t60e60sxP9
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) July 12, 2020
The Franco-British unit will allow services to share intelligence quickly and will consist of six British and six French police officers based in Coquelles outside Calais, Darmanin told reporters.
Traffickers "are those who take advantage of the human distress of people who want to cross the English Channel and who, no doubt, are not being punished sufficiently at the moment," said Darmanin.
Channel crossing attempts have increased over the last year despite the danger of heavy maritime traffic, strong currents and low water temperatures.
"Together, we must strengthen our security cooperation, in particular in fight against the illegal crossings of the English Channel by migrants risking their lives," Darmanin Read More – Source
[contf] [contfnew] 
france24
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
