French police fire tear gas to stop migrants boarding small boats
The police operation off Gravelines, northern France, came just days after the French interior ministry confirmed it would aim to intercept boats within 300 metres of the beaches to stop them leaving for the UK loaded with migrants.
Until now, the French have refused to intervene in the waters because they claimed maritime laws prevented them from taking action that could put lives at sea at risk.
But government sources told The Telegraph ministers overseeing migration policy had given the green light to do so while 'respecting' the 'law of the sea'.
Officers with riot shields waded waist-deep into the Channel on Friday morning to try and stop people boarding small boats that had come to collect them from further down the coast.
Shortly before, they appeared to have let off clouds of choking smoke as the migrants rushed towards the water.
Images showed several of them carrying children wearing orange life jackets treading through the waters to avoid the police. Despite the officers' efforts they were ultimately overwhelmed by the sheer number of people, according to reporters at the scene.
Some 14,812 migrants have crossed the Channel so far in 2025 in more than 260 boats, up nearly 32 per cent on the same period in 2024. It represents a record high for the first six months of any year since the first boats arrived in 2018.
On Wednesday, dozens of migrants reached the UK as people smugglers took advantage of the first good weather and calmer seas since May 31 when a record 1,195 people were intercepted. It is expected to push crossings past 15,000 for 2025.
The Government has vowed to crack down on people smugglers and illegal migration with Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, announcing in Wednesday's spending review that the Border Security Command would be funded up to £280 million more per year by the end of the review period in 2028-29.
The images of police entering the sea were in stark contrast to other occasions in 2024 when they were filmed standing by as migrants entered the water.
France said in June that it intended to come up with a more interventionist strategy in time for the Franco-British summit, which begins on July 8, when Emmanuel Macron, the French president, will travel to London for a state visit.
France is expanding its naval forces with six new patrol boats that will not only rescue migrants but could also intercept the 'taxi boats' before they leave for the UK.
The first of the boats, the 46-metre long Rozel which can carry 20 paramilitary police officers, has already been put to sea.
The EU border agency has warned that people-smuggling gangs are adopting a new tactic of simultaneous migrant boat launches to outwit French police.
In an update Frontex, which has committed aerial surveillance and extra staff to the Channel, said smuggling networks providing the small boats were adapting to increase the number of successful crossings.
They have already switched to using 'taxi boats' where dinghies are sailed from inland rivers and waterways to pick up migrants in the shallow waters off the beaches.
But Frontex said the smuggling gangs were also using 'simultaneous departures'.
It said: 'This tactic puts more lives at risk in an already dangerous stretch of water as it hinders the search and rescue efforts of the national authorities.'
The risks are compounded by the increasing numbers being crammed into the flimsy dinghies. There were 54 migrants per boat in the year ending March 2025, compared with 50 in 2024 and 29 in the year to March 2022, according to Home Office data.
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