Latest news with #FrenchPolice
Times
18 hours ago
- General
- Times
Why can't French police go into the Channel to arrest migrants?
The images have become all too familiar. On Saturday, French police stood on the shore watching as dozens of migrants, including young children, crammed on to a dinghy a few hundred metres off the coast. It has happened often, and in some cases migrants have drowned in front of the watching gendarmes. While it appears unfathomable, the refusal of the police to intervene is ultimately a matter of French rules. The UK is pushing for those rules to change. Why don't the French police stop more boats? The French insist there areboth legal and practical constraints. Once a boat is afloat in the water, it is not within the powers of the gendarmerie to intercept it and bring it back to shore, even if it is safe to do so. In February the French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said he wanted to give the gendarmerie new powers that would allow them to intercept boats within 300m of the coast. 'We need to rethink our approach so that we can intercept the boats. They [the gendarmerie] must be able to intervene in shallow waters,' he said. Retailleau also said he hoped to restore the offence of an 'illegal stay' in France, which would allow police to arrest migrants and smugglers before they attempt a crossing. At present, migrants who are only considered to have committed an offence when they launch the boat. More than three months on, neither of these changes have occurred. The Home Office said at the weekend that it was still 'urging the French to make the necessary changes to their operational policy so their maritime forces can intervene in shallow waters as soon as possible'. The French have instead begun a review into 'new operational tactics', although it is unclear what the outcome will be. One of the concerns is said to centre around whether gendarmes should wear body armour in the water. Another is what French officers, who routinely carry guns, should to do protect them while in the sea. Why don't the French disable the boats before they launch? Two years ago the French began a new policy, at the behest of the British, of disabling boats before launch. This was done by slashing the rubber inflatables. But this prompted the traffickers to change their tactics, launching from inland waterways then sailing into shallow waters off Channel beaches, where they pick up migrants who wade out to meet the vessel. Because the boats were already in the water, police could not intercept or disable them. This new tactic is understood to be partly to blame for the fall in the number of boats being intercepted by France, from 47 per cent in 2023 to just over 38 per cent so far this year. What other issues are there? Manpower. In 2023, the UK agreed to pay France almost £500 million over three years for extra officers to join the effort. The French have 1,200 security personnel who can be deployed each day on coastal smuggler operations. Some 730 of them are paid for by the British. But they are still having to operate across 62 miles of coastline and many potential launch points. Even when police are present, they can face personal danger attempting to stop the boats. Last weekend in Audinghen, west of Calais, two officers were taken to hospital after being pelted with stones thrown by migrants who were boarding two boats. French police policy is only to intervene if there are enough officers present to safely control the situation. That is why you see pictures of police standing by while boats launch.
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Migrant daily arrivals top 1,000 for first time this year
More than 1,100 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel on Saturday, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year. The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. This is 42% higher than the same point last year (10,448) and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610), according to the PA news agency analysis of the data. It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022. Defence Secretary John Healey said the scenes of migrants being picked up by smugglers 'like a taxi' to be brought to the UK were 'shocking'. He said it is a 'really big problem' that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters. French police officers were seen watching as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, and authorities were then pictured escorting the boats. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. Mr Healey said the UK is pressing for the French to put new rules into operation so they can intervene. 'They're not doing it, but, but for the first time for years … we've got the level of co-operation needed. 'We've got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore,' he told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News. He said Britain has 'lost control of its borders over the last five years'. 'Pretty shocking, those scenes yesterday,' Mr Healey said. He added: 'We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi to pick them up.' Nigel Farage posted a video on X of what appeared to be migrants in a dinghy marked with Saturday's date. The Reform UK leader asked: 'Where are all the women and children?' There were some women and children among those pictured boarding boats in French waters. The UK agreed a £480 million deal with France to beef up its efforts to stop migrants in 2023 under former prime minister Rishi Sunak. It was the latest in a series of agreements with France since 2014 aimed at cracking down on crossings. This year is on course to set a record, with the 14,811 total arrivals so far the highest recorded for the first five months of a year. It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year. In 2024, the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9 (14,058). Sir Keir Starmer's Government has pledged to 'smash the gangs' behind people-smuggling operations to bring down crossings. A Home Office spokesperson pointed to measures to share intelligence internationally, enhance enforcement operations in northern France and introduce tougher rules in its immigration legislation. 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. 'That is why this Government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.'
Reuters
2 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Two dead as celebrations in Paris turn into clashes after PSG win
French police used tear gas as soccer fans' celebrations on the Champs Elysees avenue turned into chaos on Saturday (May 31), after Paris St Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time. Two people were reported dead, and 192 injured, the interior ministry said on Sunday (June 1).
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Watch: Migrants cling to overloaded small boat as over 1,000 cross Channel in one day
Scores of migrants were filmed clinging to dangerously overloaded small boats on Saturday (31 March) on Saturday morning, as over 1,000 reportedly crossed the Channel in a single day. In scenes described by defence secretary John Healey as 'pretty shocking', groups, including small children sat on adults' shoulders, waited in the waters for small boats to arrive at a beach in Gravelines, near Calais, before scrambling to get aboard. Some are seen still trying to get on to the boat after it had set off. Healey has criticised French police, who were present on the beach but did not intervene, for a lack of action.
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Smuggler boats pick up Channel migrants ‘like taxi service' while French police stand by, minister fumes
The defence secretary has hit out at 'shocking' scenes of migrants being picked up by people smugglers "like a taxi" to be brought to the UK on dangerous small boats while French police stand by. A furious row has erupted over the lack of action after more than 1,000 people are thought to have crossed the channel in a single day on Saturday. French police officers were seen watching as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, while authorities were then pictured escorting the boats. John Healey said it was a "big problem" that French police had not intervened to intercept the boats in shallow waters and said ministers were pushing the French government to implement an agreement that they would. The authorities in France had to 'stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore," he added. Mr Healey told the Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News that the Saturday's scenes were 'pretty shocking'. He added: "(The) truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration." He said it is a "really big problem" that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters. "We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi to pick them up," he said. Ministers were pressing the French to put new rules into operation that would allow them to intervene. "They're not doing it, but, but for the first time for years, for the first time, we've got the level of cooperation needed,' he said. "We've got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore." This year is on course to set a record for Channel crossings, with more than 13,000 people having arrived so far, up 30 per cent on this point last year. The highest number of arrivals recorded on a single day so far this year was earlier this month, on May 21, when the number was 825. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to crack down on crossings, including with measures targeting smuggling gangs. A Home Office source said: "We have developed strong co-operation with the French and it is important that they have agreed to disrupt these boats once they're in the water - and not just on the shore. "This vital step now needs to be operationalised to protect border security and save lives." Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that Saturday was a 'day of shame for Labour' as he claimed the party had 'completely lost control of our borders'. 'So far, this is already the worst year on record. Labour have failed on every front, and Britain is paying the price,' he added.
