French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin invited his British counterpart James Cleverly to Paris on Tuesday evening for a working meeting.
In a message posted on and cybercrime.
“We will tackle the many joint challenges together by continuing the excellent Franco-British cooperation,” he added.
30,000 migrants crossed the Channel illegally in 2023
For his part, the new British Interior Minister insisted in a press release on the importance of fighting against illegal immigration, a subject which promises to be one of the major themes of the campaign for the planned legislative elections This year.
He emphasized the need to increase their joint efforts to prevent illegal crossings of the Channel by migrants wishing to reach the English coasts, after the sharp reduction in crossings in 2023 compared to the year 2022, which had recorded a record.
In 2023, 29,437 migrants made the crossing illegally, compared to 45,774 in 2022, according to figures from the British Home Office published in early January. The 2023 toll, however, remains the second highest ever recorded, higher than that of 2021 (28,526).