France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to cross the English Channel and start a better life in Britain.
Paying smugglers thousands of dollars, they often board overloaded rubber dinghies to make the dangerous and sometimes deadly journey across one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
More than 41,000 migrants landed on England’s southern coast last year – the second-highest annual number since records were started in 2018.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in power in the United Kingdom since July 2024, and his interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, are under pressure to reduce the arrivals, with the anti-immigrant Reform UK party leading in the opinion polls.
At least 29 migrants died at sea attempting the Channel crossing last year, while eight people have died so far in 2026, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.
