The French government has deployed a ‘barrier’ off the coast of Calais in Northern France in an apparent effort to deter illegal migrant boats traversing the English Channel and discourage people smugglers. Yet, the so-called “floating dam” of yellow buoys off the French coast bares more resemblance to a line of balloons at a child’s birthday party than an insurmountable barrier ready to repel tens of thousands of illegal migrants.
The barrier is, however, vastly inferior in scale to that deployed on the U.S. Southern Border by Governor Greg Abbot, which uses hundreds of closely-knit red buoys designed to roll if someone attempts to climb over them, with the line stretching around 1,000 feet along the river.
The French authorities announced that they would take such a step to ensure “security and rescue services are mobilized on a daily basis… in order to thwart the action of smugglers exploiting the distress of migrant populations and prevent the occurrence of new tragedies,” adding they are “fully committed to the fight against illegal immigration.”
The British government has promised to pay the French a staggering $576 million over the next three years to curb illegal migration from France. Statistics revealed earlier this month that just under 17,000 people have crossed the English Channel illegally this year. The total amount since 2018 is over 100,000, with the British government excepting the trend to continue for “at least” another five years.
