France: Neighbors must combat people smuggling

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Thursday that the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany needed to help France tackle human trafficking. His comments came in after a boat with people trying to reach Britain capsized in the English Channel, killing at least 27 people.

Four suspected smugglers were arrested soon after the boat capsized on Wednesday, and a fifth suspect was arrested during the night. The fifth suspect's car was registered in Germany, and it's thought he had also bought inflatable Zodiac boats there.

Darmanin told RTL Radio that the two survivors of the wreck were from Iraq and Somalia. As of Wednesday, they were suffering from severe hypothermia.

'Britain and France need to work together'

Darmanin said 7,800 people had been saved from drowning in the English Channel since January 1. He added that there are currently five times fewer migrants in the northern French city of Calais compared to around 15 years ago.

"These migrants are coming from elsewhere," Darmanin said, referring to neighboring Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Darmanin added that migrants trying to cross the Channel were often attracted by the UK's labor market, also saying there was "clearly bad management of migration in Britain."

"We can't be the only ones combating human traffickers," he said. "Britain and France need to work together."

Darmanin was due to speak with British Home Secretary Priti Patel later on Thursday. Ahead of the talks, Patel said the UK would be proactive on the matter.

"I've offered to work with France to put more officers on the ground and do absolutely whatever is necessary to secure the area so that vulnerable people do not risk their lives by getting into unseaworthy boats," Patel told parliament.

Migration not only source of Anglo-French tension

The deadliest migration tragedy to date in the world's busiest waterway represents a new challenge to cooperation between France and Britain after Brexit, amid a fractious dispute over fishing rights in particular.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on the phone following the incident. They agreed on the "urgency of stepping up joint efforts to prevent these deadly crossings."

British Immigration Minister Kevin Foster on Thursday repeated a suggestion made by Johnson, saying Britain would renew its offer to send police and border forces to France to carry out joint patrols along the Channel coast. France had previously rebuffed the proposal.

"We don't just see this as an issue that France needs to deal with, but one that we want to work together with France and our wider European partners... to break the business model of these gangs," Foster told the BBC.

However, tension was also evident in exchanges between the two countries. Johnson complained in an interview that Britain had faced "difficulties persuading some of our partners, particularly the French, to do things in a way the situation deserves."

Meanwhile, a readout of Johnson and Macron's talks from the Elysee Palace added that the president "expected the British to cooperate fully and refrain from exploiting a dramatic situation for political ends." 

sdi/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)