The British Ministry of Defense has announced that the number of migrants making the perilous journey across the English Channel to the UK on makeshift boats has surpassed 40,000.
According to government figures, 972 people crossed the canal in 22 small boats on Saturday, bringing the year-to-date total to 40,885, a new record.
Never before have so many migrants, mostly Albanians, Iranians and Afghans, made the perilous crossing.
In 2021, 28,526 crossings were recorded, which was already a record, according to the French agency AFP.
These growing numbers are putting pressure on the Conservative government, which is making fighting immigration a priority.
Successive British administrators tried various schemes, but to no avail.
The last of those plans, announced by former prime minister Boris Johnson, was to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, but stalled.
The issue remains a point of contention with France, although the two countries announced in a joint statement on Friday that they were “making progress” towards reaching a new agreement.
The UK is said to be willing to pay France a further £80m (€91m at current exchange rates) for extra policing on French beaches, while British authorities gain access to French control centres.
Recent revelations of overcrowded reception centers have sparked controversy in the UK, a country where the majority of people are in favor of welcoming migrants.
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