It was hard not to laugh, coldly, at the statement from western members of the UN Security Council that condemned Belarus for engineering the migrant crisis on its border with Poland.
Following Thursday’s emergency UN Security Council meeting, western members published a joint statement, accusing Belarus of putting migrants’ lives in danger ‘for political purposes’.
That’s true, of course, but to hear such words from France. Quelle hypocrisie!
There are far fewer migrants camping out in cardboard cities in Paris this year. Why? Because these camps have been broken up and the migrants – overwhelmingly young men from Africa and the Middle East – have headed north to Calais. Once there it’s only a short voyage across the Channel to England, a voyage that 24,000 have made this year, nearly treble the number that succeeded in making the crossing in 2020.
‘They appear to have ceded sovereign territory to criminal people smugglers,’ a Whitehall source was quoted as saying of France’s incapacity to halt those crossing.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in