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🚨🎥 WATCH: French police slash a small boat just before it leaves for the UK pic.twitter.com/rKRaVi7Y5o
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) July 4, 2025
FRENCH POLICE HAVE punctured an inflatable boat carrying migrants off the northern coast for the first time, in what UK officials are calling a “significant moment” in efforts to curb record Channel crossings.
Video footage captured near Boulogne-sur-Mer showed officers wading into shallow waters and slashing a dinghy carrying dozens of people, including women and children, forcing them to return to shore.
The move, supported by British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, signals a possible shift in how French authorities deal with small boat launches.
Until now, French police have largely avoided intervention once vessels enter the water, citing maritime safety laws.
“What we saw this morning was a significant moment,” said a spokesman from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office.
“We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.”
Cooper called the action “different” and “welcome,” saying it aligns with plans to allow French police to intervene within 300 metres of the shore – part of a wider strategy to disrupt smuggling gangs.
Despite the UK’s praise, French officials have downplayed talk of a formal policy shift.
Police sources told the BBC they remain barred from entering the water except where lives are at risk.
Nonetheless, further cooperation is expected to be announced at next week’s Anglo-French summit during President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the UK.
Plans reportedly include increased patrols and pre-emptive action against so-called “taxi boats” used by smugglers.
More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel to the UK in small boats so far this year, nearly 50% more than the same period last year. Officials blame the rise on mild weather and shifting smuggling tactics.
In 2024 as a whole, nearly 37,000 people were detected making the crossing – 25% more than in 2023.
The highest yearly total is for 2022, when 45,755 people arrived.
French police unions have warned that current resources and training are insufficient for more aggressive maritime operations.
Human rights groups have also criticised the approach, saying it risks making an already dangerous crossing even deadlier.
At a migrant camp near Dunkirk, asylum seekers told Reuters the new tactics would not stop them.
“We are not afraid to die,” said Israrullah Lodin, 26, who has failed to cross three times. “I have to reach my destination.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, estimates that at least 82 migrants died attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, making it the deadliest year on record.
Its figures also include people who died while travelling to launch sites, including in car crashes or due to medical issues.
By the end of June this year, the IOM had recorded at least 18 more deaths in 2025, bringing the total number of lives lost on the route since 2018 to 247.
The UK’s Refugee Council has warned that crossings have become even more dangerous, with increasing numbers of people crammed into overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.
Labour has faced mounting pressure over the issue, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage proposing naval interceptions, an idea experts say would require French cooperation.
A new UK borders bill proposes prosecuting those who endanger lives at sea, especially where children die during crossings.
But UK Home Secretary Cooper stopped short of promising a drop in migrant numbers by next year.
Peter Walsh, from Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, said maritime interception may stop more migrants but would not affect long-term trends behind the migrant surge, including multiple conflicts and the allure of English-speaking Britain.
With reporting from AFP
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