Wednesday 17 November 2021
After the misfortune of the migrants
Decathlon store stopped selling kayaks
Tens of thousands of migrants are waiting in refugee camps around Calais, and in recent days more and more of them have tried to cross to Great Britain. After several cruises, sporting goods chain Decathlon is taking kayaks out of their range in two cities.
Sporting goods retailer Decathlon has stopped selling kayaks in branches in two cities in the north of France because the boats could be used by migrants to cross Great Britain. In Calais and Grande-Synthe shops, “due to the current situation”, no more kayaks are sold, the Decathlon press office told AFP news agency on Tuesday, confirming reports to the local press.
The reason given was that pleasure crafts were unsuitable for crossing the English Channel and that people could put their lives in danger if they tried in any way. Products that “increased protection at sea, such as vests, paddles or thermal protection” will continue to be sold at Calais and Grande-Synthe, the press office added. In such a situation, the suggestion to remove the kayak from the offer came from the shops themselves.
Three refugees trying to cross the English Channel in a kayak have been missing since Friday. The day before, two kayaks were discovered floating off the coast of Calais and two were rescued. The water between Calais and Dover is about 45 kilometers wide.
Between January and the end of September, about 30,000 migrants tried to cross the English Channel into Great Britain. The number of attempts, and with it the number of accidents, has increased significantly over the past few weeks, increasing tensions with the British government. More than 1,000 people tried to cross from the mainland on Thursday alone.
Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin and his British aide Priti Patel said on Tuesday they wanted to intensify their cooperation to end the “dangerous crossing”. On the same day, security forces recaptured a barbarian refugee camp in Grande-Sinthe, where more than 1,000 people lived. In addition, 272 people were rescued from the sea off the coast of France. He had tried to go to England by makeshift boats.
