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A leading member of France’s governing party has described Britain as an ‘El Dorado’ for migrants with a ‘very weak asylum policy’. The comments made by Eleonore Caroit, 39, on Monday are particularly significant because she is a close lieutenant of President Emmanuel Macron, and vice-president of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee.
The Renaissance Party member was asked if a generous benefits culture and lax controls meant the UK was still an ‘El Dorado’ – the mythical city of gold in South America. Ms Caroit replied: "It is. It’s a complex situation, people want simple solutions, but you have to go to Calais and see what it looks like, and how many small boats you have and how many people are waiting to go to the UK. "So, of course, there is a part that can be improved in France, and we’re working towards that. But I also think the UK needs to take responsibility, because it is so attractive on these migrant routes today, and we actually need to work together instead of blaming each other."
Ms Caroit was speaking to French media after British politicians expressed anger at the failure of the French to stop thousands of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
Ten people have died this year alone, making the perilous trip from northern France.
Saturday saw a daily record of 1,194 people reaching the south coast of England.
The French stopped just 184 migrants out of 1,378 leaving their shores, most of them on flimsy inflatables organised by people smugglers.
This brought the total for 2025 up to 14,811 – the highest ever recorded in the first five months of a year, and up 42% on this time last year.
Ms Caroit said it was ‘unfair’ to attack French police for standing by as migrants headed for Britain.
She said: "Once the boats are in the water, it is impossible for the French policemen to actually intercept them."
Calling for a legal change to allow officers to intervene in shallow waters, Ms Caroit said: "It’s a matter of legislation, but it’s also a matter, again, of what happened after Brexit. Before it was easier to have the migrants return.
"We need increased co-operation between the UK and the French, the authorities and policemen, so that we can actually have a clear division of what can be done when the boats are in the water.
"And most importantly, it is important to deter these boats from actually wanting to go to the UK. Because unless we stop this, we can put more money into it, but there will be more boats."
Ms Caroit also claimed Britain was suffering from no longer being part of the Dublin Agreement, which had enabled the UK to return migrants to the EU if it was shown they had travelled through a European country and had failed to claim asylum there.
No replacement for the Dublin accord was negotiated in the Brexit talks, although Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seeking to agree a similar scheme.
Ms Caroit said: "One thing is certain – the numbers have been increasing since Brexit, because the UK is no longer part of the Dublin Regulation and has a very weak asylum policy."
The French have intercepted just 38% of migrants in small boats this year, down from 45% in 2024, 47% in 2023 and 42% in 2022.
This is despite Britain investing £480million over three years to fund extra officers and surveillance equipment on French beaches.
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