French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (2nd from right) and officials observe a minute's silence in front of a steel memorial next to the Church of Saint-Etienne in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France on Sunday, during a tribute to Father Jacques Hamel who was assassinated in 2016 as France was experiencing a wave of attacks claimed by the Islamic State. Photo: AFP

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday that he has asked the EU border agency Frontex, which has long been guarding Europe's southern borders, not to neglect the northern coastline, either, in the fight against illegal immigration.

"I myself have contacted Frontex, which is predominantly taking care of southern Europe, and asked them to deal with northern Europe, too, particularly the coastline of Nord-Pas-de-Calais," he told reporters on a visit to the French port of Calais, a point from which many migrants try to cross the Channel to reach Britain.

"Sixty percent of migrants who come here, come via Belgium. So, our spectrum must be very wide. We need European air surveillance," Darmanin said. Since the end of 2018, an increasing number of migrants have tried to cross the Channel to Britain, defying warnings from the authorities of the dangers of such a journey, given the high density of traffic, the strong sea currents and the cold temperatures. Darmanin welcomed a deal reached last week by France and Britain, under which London has pledged just under 63 million euros ($74 million) in 2021-22 to help France stem the flow of illegal migrants crossing the Channel. 

France has promised to beef up security forces along the coast. 

"We already have more than 5,000 police officers and gendarmes in Pas-de-Calais, a large number of whom are involved in the fight again immigration. We will increase these numbers," Darmanin said. 

On July 19, at least 430 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK, including women and young children, a record for a single day, the Home Office said. At least 8,452 people have now crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2020, surpassing the total for all of 2020, according to data compiled by the PA news agency as of Tuesday. Britain was working on making the country less attractive for asylum seekers and would enforce measures such as sanctions on illegal migration and those who enabled it, the statement said.

France said it was also deploying more police to patrol its borders with Spain and Italy.

In 2020, more than 9,500 crossings or attempted crossings were recorded, four times as many as in 2019, according to the French authorities. 

Out of these, six people died and three were reported missing in 2020, compared with four deaths in 2019.