Daily number of migrants reaching UK on small boats hits 2025 high
Nearly 1,200 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats from France on Saturday — the highest daily total so far this year, according to UK government figures.
The Home Office reported that 1,194 people arrived in 18 vessels during favourable weather conditions, bringing the provisional number of arrivals to 14,811, a 42% increase compared to the same period last year.
The rise has increased political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government, which took office nearly a year ago amid growing public dissatisfaction with the previous Conservative administration.
Despite promising to do so, the last government failed to reduce the number of Channel crossings.
Since assuming power, Labour scrapped the Conservatives' controversial Rwanda deportation scheme, instead pledging to tackle the small boats issue by dismantling the people smuggling networks fuelling illegal migration.
Starmer's government has prioritised international intelligence cooperation and tightened immigration rules.
Despite joint efforts by both the British and French governments, the English Channel remains a prominent route for people fleeing war or poverty.
Many migrants choose the UK due to linguistic ties, existing family connections or perceptions of easier asylum procedures and employment access.
Footage taken on Saturday showed French police watching as migrants launched boats from Gravelines, situated between Calais and Dunkirk, before escorting them out to sea.
French authorities confirmed they rescued 184 individuals.
Defence Secretary John Healey told British media the scenes were 'pretty shocking,' and described the inability of French officers to intervene in shallow waters as a 'really big problem".
'They're not doing it, but, but for the first time for years…we've got the level of cooperation needed," he added.
According to the British Home Office, 36,816 individuals crossed the Channel in small boats during 2024, marking a 25% rise on the previous year. The peak year remains 2022, when 45,774 people arrived via the route.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
30 minutes ago
- LeMonde
French renewable energy is in turmoil after massive Spanish power outage
"France is producing too much electricity, risking a financial meltdown." In mid-April, the business daily La Tribune sounded the alarm. The headline summed up a concern that has gripped part of the French energy and political world for months: While in 2022 the country braced for potential power cuts due to nuclear fleet failures, soaring energy prices and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a new fear has been raised – overproduction. The main culprits are solar and wind power, which are providing increasingly more energy while electricity consumption is stagnating. Their rise could threaten the grid, public finances and the nuclear fleet, prompting calls to slow – or even stop – their development. Just days before stepping down as CEO of EDF (multinational electric utility company), Luc Rémont described to lawmakers in the French Sénat on April 22 the "major challenge" posed by "the growing gap between supply and demand" for electricity. "In the coming years, we will have to ensure that this imbalance between dispatchable sources [notably nuclear] and intermittent sources [renewables] does not undermine the stability of the system, either physically or economically. That is truly the greatest challenge we face," he stressed.
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
Lula presses Macron on Mercosur trade deal during Paris visit
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may have a close relationship, but that does not always prevent serious disagreements. Macron welcomed Lula to Paris on Thursday, June 5, for a two-day state visit, and the two leaders were set to meet again at a United Nations conference on ocean protection in Nice from June 9 to 13. The state dinner at the Elysée, which was attended by a large number of guests, was preceded earlier in the day by a tense moment during a joint press conference following their welcome at Les Invalides and initial talks. Lula launched into a passionate plea for the signing of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (the South American trade bloc). "My dear Macron, open your heart a little," he urged the French president, who has deemed the compromise negotiated by the European Commission "unacceptable in its current form." Such an EU-Mercosur agreement would be "the best response our regions can give in a scenario of uncertainty brought about by the return of unilateralism and tariff protectionism," added the former trade unionist, referring to the threat of trade wars posed by US president Donald Trump. The Brazilian leader even encouraged the 27 member states to sign the agreement during his presidency of Mercosur in the second half of 2025.
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Trump says fresh US-China trade talks in London next week
The talks in the British capital on Monday will mark the second round of such negotiations between the world's two biggest economies since Trump launched his trade war this year. "The meeting should go very well," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform. The president added that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese team. The first talks between Washington and Beijing since Trump slapped levies on allies and adversaries alike took place in Geneva last month. While Trump had imposed a sweeping 10 percent duty on imports from most trading partners, rates on Chinese goods rocketed as both countries engaged in an escalating tariffs battle. In April, additional US tariffs on many Chinese products hit 145 percent while China hit back with countermeasures of 125 percent. Following the talks last month, both sides agreed to temporarily bring down the levels, with US tariffs cooling to 30 percent and China's levies at 10 percent. But this temporary halt is expected to expire in early August and Trump last week accused China of violating the pact, underscoring deeper differences on both sides. US officials have accused China of slow-walking export approvals of critical minerals and rare earth magnets, a key issue behind Trump's recent remarks. While Trump's long-awaited phone call with Xi this week likely paved the way for further high-level trade talks, a swift resolution to the tariffs impasse remains uncertain. © 2025 AFP
