Decathlon stops selling kayaks to prevent migrants from crossing the border
“Our team members alerted us to the fact that the boats we sell – kayaks in particular – could be used by migrants wanting to cross the Channel,” the company said. said in a statement.
“The risks they took were substantial, prompting us to withdraw all of these products from sale in stores in all Opal Coast locations: Decathlon Calais, Grande-Synthe, le Touquet-Paris -Plage and Boulogne-sur-Mer. It will only be possible to buy them online with home delivery,” it added.
The move comes amid record numbers of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats to reach British shores. On Thursday, just over 1,000 migrants crossed the Channel into the UK, a Home Office spokesman told CNN, setting a new daily record.
According to PA Media, more than 23,500 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel this year.
Many people are risking their lives in hopeless boats of poor quality in a desperate attempt to navigate one of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet.
Decathlon’s announcement came on the same day France’s regional maritime province said it had rescued 272 people adrift in the English Channel as they tried to reach the UK.
The crossings have become a cause of tension between the UK and France, with the UK government calling the number of migrants leaving France’s shores “unacceptable”, in a statement told CNN last week.