The boat, which capsized near Calais, had been carrying a group of migrants to Britain.

PARIS — At least 27 people drowned in frigid waters off the coast of France on Wednesday, after a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Britain capsized in the English Channel, one of the worst death tolls in recent years for migrants attempting the dangerous crossing.

Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said that the dead, including five women and a little girl, were part of a group whose “extremely fragile” inflatable boat was found completely deflated by rescuers.

They were also a stark reminder that five years after authorities dismantled a sprawling migrant camp in Calais, both countries are still struggling to handle the flow of migrants in the area.

Attempts to reach Britain by boat have increased in recent years as the authorities crack down on the smuggling of asylum-seekers inside trucks crossing the Channel Tunnel.

Last week, Decathlon, a large sporting goods chain, announced that it had stopped selling kayaks in its stores in Calais and in Grande-Synthe, another city on the northern coast, because they could endanger the lives of migrants trying to use them to cross the channel.

But the recent increase in attempts to cross the English Channel by boat reflects a shift in routes rather than a surge in migration, according to migration experts and rights groups, who say that, overall, asylum applications in Britain are down this year.

Olivier Caremelle, a local official and former chief of staff to the mayor of Grande-Synthe, which has long sheltered migrants and refugees, said that Wednesday’s deaths were “to be expected” given the significant risks presented by the cold seas of the English Channel, heavy shipping traffic and changing weather.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said that he was “shocked and appalled and deeply saddened by the loss of life at sea in the Channel.” But, he added: “I also want to say that this disaster underscores how dangerous it is to cross the Channel in this way.”.

Migrants will keep trying to cross the Channel, Mr