The French Government is making an effort to reduce the number of illegal migrants entering both France and the UK through cash incentives of up to €1,850.
French officials are implementing a policy of cash payments in a bid to entice migrants to return to their country of origin. It comes as migrants continue to pour into the country despite the spread of coronavirus.
The policy would pay illegal migrants or failed asylum-seekers who have been in French territory for 6 months €1,850, or around £1,684.79, plus offer them a one-way ticket home. The French Government has also offered an additional £3,189.90 if they wish to finance a project back home.
Pierre-André Hénot is a member of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), who have been tasked with implementing the idea, and has been sent to promote it to migrants in Calais.
The official travelled to a food distribution centre on the coast to make the offer in person to migrants working there.
Many have refused, instead opting for what they consider to be a better life in the UK. There have been some successes, with 144 (mostly Iraqi) migrants taking up the offer.
The French Navy have also been turning boats around and sending them back to the mainland, according to a young migrant trying to get to the UK, although lorries and boats continue to be the preferred choice for migrants trying to cross the Channel.
There have also been reports of police being overwhelmed only last week by the number of migrants on the A16 motorway, and a lorry driver being attacked by migrants that he filmed trying to enter another lorry.
