France Claims To Have Blocked 600 Migrants in English Channel Over Easter

French officials have claimed that police were able to stop at least 600 illegal immigrants from crossing the English Channel to the UK over Easter Weekend.

French police stated on Tuesday that they were able to prevent at least 600 illegal immigrants from crossing the channel to reach the southern coast of England over the Easter weekend and claimed to have arrested eleven people smugglers as well.

Among the migrants brought back to France were 72 people who were rescued by French authorities in the Channel after reporting to be in a state of distress, the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants reports.

According to a report from the European Union border agency Frontex, the number of migrants attempting to cross the channel from January to March of this year has increased by 190 per cent compared to 2021 but around half of the 8,900 illegals were stopped by French authorities.

While France claims it was able to block 600 migrants from crossing over Easter, hundreds of migrants were able to successfully make the journey to the UK, bringing the total number of migrants who have reached the UK to over 6,000 as of Good Friday.

Last year, the UK saw a total of 28,526 illegal immigrants arrive across the Channel, largely from Northern France, a record number. However, many, including the British government, expect that the record will be shattered this year with officials claiming that as many as 65,000 or even 100,000 illegals may arrive before the end of 2022.

“The 2021 number was treble that of the year before. If there is another tripling this year of the 2021 figure then the number who cross illegally by the end of the year could well exceed 65,000,” Migration Watch UK head Alp Mehmet told Breitbart London in January.

“As things stand, there is little to inspire confidence in the government’s ability to stem the flow of illegal crossings,” Mehmet said and added, “The people smugglers, who are making millions of pounds from their burgeoning illicit trade, know they are onto a winner and will milk it till the cows come home.”

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.