France beefs up anti-smuggling agency after migrant deaths

PARIS (AP) — France’s interior minister says France will double the number of officers in charge of fighting smugglers after 27 people died last week trying to cross the Channel to get Britain in an overcrowded smuggling boat. Speaking Monday after a defense council meeting, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the anti-smuggling office will be redesigned next year to work in the same way as the one against drug traffickers. Despite tensions with Britain, Darmanin also said the French government is open to holding discussions with British authorities on how best to stop migrants from undertaking the dangerous journeys across the Channel.