Decathlon Stops Selling Canoes amid Migration Crisis in Northern France
Sports equipment Giant announces it will stop selling canoes in Northern France claiming that the equipment is being used by migrants to cross to the UK.
Sports equipment retailer Decathlon said Tuesday it would no longer sell canoes in the north of France, in an aim to prevent migrants from attempting to use them to cross to England.
"The purchase of canoes will no longer be possible" Decathlon told AFP in its stores in Calais and Grande-Synthe, near Dunkirk.
The retailer justified its decision by saying that the items were not being used for their original sporting purpose, and "could be used to cross the Channel," which separates Southern UK from northern France, and "people's lives would be endangered."
Decathlon explained that its stores had decided to stop selling the canoes, and the management had approved the decision.
The canoes will continue to be available for online purchase
The canoes will continue to be available for online purchase and in other stores. Other safety equipment, such as life jackets and thermal protection will also still be sold in the Calais and Grande-Synthe stores.
On Friday, three migrants were reported missing after trying to cross the Channel to the UK in canoes.
Two canoes were found floating in the Calais on Thursday and two people were pulled out of the water.
Earlier on Tuesday, French police cleared a major migrant camp that was home to around a thousand people hoping to reach the UK.
Tensions are high between London and Paris over English Channel crossings.
A record number of 1,185 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats last Thursday, which the British government described as "unacceptable."