France says it won't be 'held hostage' by the UK's domestic politics; ready to talk

Amid rising tensions between Britain and France over the recent English channel crisis, a meeting was held with European ministers on Sunday. UK based news outlet, Mirror reported that after the meeting, France's interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, held a press conference where he said, "France will not be held hostage by Britain". However, he said the country was ready for serious discussions about the ongoing immigration crisis. 

He was reportedly held a meeting with his Belgian, German and Dutch counterparts where he cleared the stance of France while dealing with the migrant crisis. Pointing fingers towards Britain's exit from European Union, Darmanin said, "Britain left Europe, but not the world."  It is worth mentioning though the UK left the group but, it remained subject to EU law and remained part of the European Union Customs Union and the European Single Market.

Why do both countries lock their horns? 

At least 27 people have lost their lives after their boat drowned in the English Channel on their way to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, 24 November. After the incident, the interior minister of France described it as the worst tragedy to date which involved migrants crossing. Darmanin stated that the boat was suspected to be carrying 34 individuals.

Authorities from France and the United Kingdom carried out an air and sea rescue effort to find the remaining survivors. Following the incident, Britain PM Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks and agreed to keep all the options open to prevent the crossings and "break the business model of the criminal gangs behind them," AP reported citing Johnson's office as saying. . Subsequently, Johnson took to Twitter to publish a letter addressing Macron. In the letter, Johnson also mentioned five measures that their countries need to take in order to avoid fatalities in the English Channel. Now, this sparked controversy. 

Have a look at the letter here:

Blame game

Although, both France and Britain maintained to resolve the issues collectively, the statement of both the countries only exhibits a dirty "blame-game"."We need to work sincerely on these issues... without being held hostage by domestic British politics. If migrants are coming to Calais, Dunkirk or northern France, it's because they are fascinated by England, especially the employment market which means you can work in England without any identification," The Mirror quoted the interior minister as saying after the meeting with leaders. "Britain must take its responsibility and limit its economic attractiveness," added Darmanin. On the other hand, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid asked for greater assistance from the French in resolving the dangerous Channel crossing.

Image: AP