Channel migrant rift widens

A European migration dispute has intensified, with France accusing the United Kingdom of lacking seriousness and scrapping a high-level meeting in the aftermath of a tragedy in the English Channel this week that left at least 27 migrants dead.

French President Emmanuel Macron has reacted angrily to a letter from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – which Johnson also posted in full on social media on Friday – calling for joint border patrols, as well as for France to take back migrants who succeed in the dangerous crossing of the channel.

These ideas have been proposed by Britain before – and rejected by France.

‘‘We do not communicate from one leader to another on these issues by tweets and letters that we make public,’’ Macron said yesterday. ‘‘We will see with the British how to work effectively when they decide to be serious.’’

Earlier, France announced that British Home Secretary Priti Patel was no longer invited to weekend talks.

The interior ministers of France, Britain and several other European countries were to meet in Calais today to discuss joint efforts to combat people smuggling in the region, after France called for more support from its neighbours. The French see the crisis as a shared European problem, with some of the migrants entering France from neighbouring countries.

In the letter that caused offence in France, Johnson renewed calls for ‘‘joint patrols’’ by British and French security forces or private contractors along the French coast – something that raises concern in Paris about sovereignty. He also demanded a pact that would allow migrants to be sent back to France. Since Britain left the European Union, there is no established mechanism for transferring people back to mainland Europe.

Confirming that France had cancelled British participation in today’s meeting, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal called the letter ‘‘bereft of substance’’ and ‘‘totally inappropriate in terms of form’’.

He said the letter did not reflect what Macron and Johnson had discussed when they spoke by phone shortly after the fatal incident in the channel. ‘‘We are sick of doublespeak.’’

The past months have been particularly rocky for relations between France and Britain.

The two countries sparred after Britain joined a pact that derailed a major French submarine deal with Australia. France has also accused Britain of withholding post-Brexit fishing licences from French fishermen.

Yesterday, groups of French fishermen temporarily disrupted shipping traffic with Britain at the ports of Calais and Ouistreham, and blockaded the Channel Tunnel’s freight traffic access, to add to the pressure on the British government.

On migration, Britain and France have argued that they have the same goal – curbing illegal migration and human trafficking in the English Channel – but their ideas on how to achieve that aim differ widely.

Migrants can apply for asylum in Britain only if they are physically there – meaning that many of them feel compelled to take deadly risks in rickety boats with traffickers.

French officials say that to combat human trafficking, other nations need to step up their support.

The French government accuses Britain of a lack of action against traffickers as well as businesses that employ undocumented migrants. However, French Interior Minister Ge´rald Darmanin this week also named Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany as countries linked to trafficking networks.