Starting Dec. 1, border patrols will be doubled and bolstered by new technologies to help British and French authorities search for illegal migrants before they start their journey, The Independent reported.
France and the UK have signed a new deal to prevent undocumented migrants from crossing the English Channel, boosting patrols to seal off a route migrants and refugees use in hope of entering Britain.
The four-point Anglo-French agreement which includes an upgraded drone and close-circuit television surveillance along the 100-mile French northern coastline aims to catch illegal crossers before they sneak out of French soil.
A rising number of migrants have tried to enter Britain across the dangerous and busy shipping route in recent months - with four deaths reported last year and seven so far this year. The English Channel has been used by more than 8,000 suspected illegal migrants in the past few months - compared with 1,840 in 2019.
Northern France has long been a destination for people who seek to smuggle themselves to the UK in dinghies or lorries and cars that cross daily on ferries. A recent report exposed almost 300 border-related fatalities in and around the English Channel since 1999.
"Thanks to more police patrols on French beaches and enhanced intelligence sharing between our security and law enforcement agencies, we're already seeing fewer migrants leaving French beaches," UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said.
The UK has pledged to make "an additional investment of 31.4 million euros to support France's major efforts against illegal crossings," as part of the accord, AFP quoted the French interior ministry as saying in a statement released Sunday.
Amnesty International was not happy with the deal, calling it "profoundly disappointing". According to aid and human rights organizations, the best way to prevent migrant crossing is to provide safe passages for people who seek asylum in the UK.
The Detention Action charity also denounced the deal. Bella Sankey, the organization's director, said there was an urgent need to establish safe and legal routes for migration instead, Al Jazeera reported.
