France has formally rejected the UK government’s call for joint patrols on the French coast to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. In a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said his government “cannot accept” the presence of British personnel because it would compromise French sovereignty. It was a response to a request made by Johnson last week for the two countries to “go further and faster together” to deal with the illegal immigration crisis in the English Channel, following the sinking of a boat carrying illegal immigrants on Nov. 24 with the loss of 27 lives. Johnson called on Paris to take back the illegal immigrants and allow British border officials to patrol jointly with their French counterparts on the beaches of northern France. In his letter, Castex wrote: “We have always accepted to examine and discuss in …