"But the RNLI should not be sending boats to meet boats which have been escorted by the French authorities to mid-channel.”

You forgot to complete that sentence. “…escorted by the French authorities to mid-channel, then abandoned in their leaky, unreliable craft”

The question should be why do the French abandon them in the middle of the Channel.

We all know that there are no easy answers as to how to deal with the crossings across the channel. But people should never forget that the RNLI is manned by volunteers. The crews at Dover have been called out an increasing number of times. If you have not already seen it, i would recommend this episode of Saving Lives At Sea.

Saving Lives at Sea Series 10: 1. Emergency in the Channel

It does include upsetting scenes.

It does also show otber vessels responding to the emergency.