UK and French ministers will meet in Paris on Tuesday for urgent talks on the growing crisis with migrants in the English Channel. So far this year, more than 4,000 migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, have attempted to cross from France to the UK in overcrowded lifeboats or makeshift boats, including around 700 in the past week.
It is a journey of about 35 kilometers along the busiest sea route in the world. There are hundreds of street children among the migrants.
The surge in arrivals is generating political waves. Speaking to reporters in London on Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to take action, but with few caveats.