The number of migrants rescued at sea in the Pas-de-Calais region increased by nearly 30% to 6,310 last year, according to an annual report published on Thursday by the Manche Mer du Nord maritime prefecture.
A total of 45,203 migrants were involved last year in assistance or rescue operations at sea in the English Channel, which separates France from England, representing a 26% increase.
Among these individuals, the maritime prefecture (Prémar) recorded 72 deaths and three disappearances in the area where France is responsible for rescue operations.
Last week, Xavier Delrieu, head of the Office for Combating Illegal Migrant Trafficking (OLTIM), reported 78 deaths in 2024, the highest number since the phenomenon of “small boats” began in 2018.
The Prémar’s annual report notes that the average number of migrants aboard these “structurally unsuitable” vessels rose from 45 to 54 per boat in one year.
This overcrowding has contributed to the increase in shipwrecks, the Prémar stated, noting a rise in on-board mortality “due to asphyxiation from crushing, directly linked” to the excessive number of passengers.
People smugglers and migrants are so determined to reach the United Kingdom that they often only accept assistance from French rescue services “as a last resort” and in situations of “extreme urgency,” Prémar stated.
However, according to migrant aid associations and NGOs on the French coast, the significant increase in deaths last year is more likely due to increased police surveillance at the French-British border, which, rather than deterring migrants and their smugglers, pushes them to take even greater risks.
