France-U.K. acrimony impedes progress on channel crossings

LONDON — At times, the quarrels between Britain and France can seem trivial and more than a little petulant. But the latest round of recrimination, following the tragic deaths of at least 27 migrants in a flimsy inflatable boat off the French coast, puts the two countries at odds on one of the thorniest issues they face.

The rising number of migrants risking their lives to cross the English Channel is both a humanitarian crisis and a complex law enforcement challenge. Experts say it will not be helped by the acrimonious back-and-forth between French and British officials that led France on Friday to rescind an invitation for Britain’s Home secretary, Priti Patel, to attend an emergency meeting on the crisis.

Rather than working together to curb these hazardous sea journeys, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Emmanuel Macron almost immediately fell into a familiar pattern: questioning each other’s motives, seeking to score political points and casting blame for an intractable global problem that afflicts both their countries.

The latest diplomatic eruption came after Johnson sent — and immediately posted on Twitter — a letter to Macron in which he laid blame for the crisis on France and proposed it commit to taking back all asylum-seekers who make it to Britain, a suggestion the French have already rejected multiple times.

Macron, who had discussed the crisis with Johnson earlier by phone, reacted acidly. “You don’t communicate from one leader to another on these issues by tweets and by letters that you make public,” he said.