France, UK seek coordinated response after migrant tragedy

Calais, France: Britain and France on Thursday called for a coordinated European response to stop people-trafficking in the Channel after at least 27 migrants trying to reach England drowned off the northern French coast.

However even as Paris invited European ministers to an emergency meeting at the weekend, the response risked being undermined by continued Franco-British squabbling after Brexit. The disaster was the deadliest accident since the Channel in 2018 became a key route for migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia who have been increasingly using small boats to reach England from France.