In recent years, internal conflicts and livelihood difficulties in the Middle East and Africa have increased migration to European countries. The Mediterranean route has become one of the prominent paths with intense movements for irregular migration towards Europe. Irregular migrants using this route set out on a dangerous journey, risking their lives, hoping to reach Europe by boats or small vessels. However, some of these hopes end tragically, as some migrants lose their lives while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
The overturning of boats or the overcrowding in vessels, leading to dehydration and lack of air, result in the loss of many irregular migrants' lives every year as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean.
The first places where irregular migrants who manage to cross the Mediterranean by their own means or get rescued set foot in Europe are usually the coasts of France and Italy, which are close to North Africa. With this situation in mind, France sought to find a solution and came up with a different approach.
According to the German media outlet Deutsche Welle Türkçe (DW), France found that those who completed the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean had started to develop a fear of the sea.
France has started providing swimming lessons to migrants to help them overcome their fear of drowning. In the project, migrants who successfully endure the challenging journey and manage to stay alive are given swimming lessons.
The aim is to help those who reach France conquer their fear of the sea, but the news of this project has surprised the global public. This step taken by France, rather than developing more comprehensive policies for irregular migrants, has been met with ridicule.
