Macron tells Johnson to ‘get serious’ on Channel crisis

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron hit out at British Prime Boris Johnson on Friday over a tweeted letter, accusing him of being "not serious" after 27 migrants died crossing the Channel.

Johnson sparked fury in France after writing a private letter to Macron on Thursday evening proposing five ways to stop migrants crossing from France to Britain, then publishing it in full on his Twitter account.

"I am surprised by methods when they are not serious. One leader does not communicate with another on these questions on Twitter, by public letter... No, No," Macron told a press conference in Rome. Relations between the two neighbours were already seen as their most tense in decades following a series of disputes over Brexit, but the personal criticism of Johnson represents a further turn for the worse.

French fishermen also began a temporary blockade of cross-Channel ferries and trains on Friday to protest against Britain´s new licensing process which they see as obstructing their work.

Analysts say the lack of trust and goodwill between Paris and London will make it more difficult to mount a coordinated response to the growing numbers of people seeking to cross the narrow but treacherous waterway separating the countries.

In response to Johnson´s letter, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin cancelled planned talks with his British counterpart Priti Patel on Sunday, informing her that she was no longer invited to a meeting with other European ministers.