At its narrowest, only 34 kilometers separate the French coast from the UK. Every year, dozens of people die attempting to cross the English Channel by boat. Since the start of the year, at least 37 people have lost their lives, and the number is rising all the time. Why is that?

Historically, it was via the Channel Tunnel that migrants tried their luck by boarding lorries. Tighter controls have curbed this practice, without deterring them from reaching the United Kingdom. It has simply pushed them towards a new route that is as dangerous: the Channel. With the increase in departures by sea, police pressure on the beaches arou

nd Calais has intensified. To counter this, people are now leaving by boat from towns further south, a long way from the English coast, or from other waterways, with boats that are increasingly overloaded and unsuitable for sailing and often in a rush.

With the aim of halting arrivals by sea by 2023, the United Kingdom has granted France 541 million euros. Some of these funds were used for drones, helicopters, surveillance aircraft, walls, barbed wire, patrols, tear gas, CO2 sensors, thermal cameras... Yet all these deterrents are not stopping the departures. Between January and August 2024, almost 20,000 people managed to reach the English coast. The same figure as the previous year over the same period.

So why are migrants trying to reach the UK at all costs, despite the risks?

Generally, they think they can fit in more easily: they know English, there is a diaspora from their country of origin, they have family there, or they hope for better recognition of their qualifications.

Others wish to continue their journey to the United Kingdom because they have been turned away by many European countries because of their "no entry" policies. Or they have often been unable to lodge an asylum application because of the Dublin regulation, which forces them to do so in the country where they entered the EU, and not in the country they wish to reach.

The fight against people smugglers cannot be the only response to these tragedies. There is an urgent need to open safe and legal migration routes between the UK and France, as for Europe's other external borders.