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Times
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
What do police on the front line make of plans to stop the boats?
Nicolas Laroye, a veteran of France's border police, spent more than a decade patrolling the coast around Dunkirk in search of migrants. Now he shares the frustration of colleagues who have taken over what has become a near impossible task.'Of course we want to stop the migrants,' he said, as we sat in a cafe. 'But we know that they will keep trying and trying and that in the end they will all get through.'Times have changed since the days when those hoping to reach England lurked in small groups around the ports or the entrance to the Channel Tunnel hoping to stow away in the back of lorries. Back then, 20 years ago, there were far fewer of them and they always came quietly. 'In ten years I never experienced any violence. We didn't even need to handcuff them,' Laroye said. Now, most evenings, hundreds can gather at one of the wide beaches that line the 70-mile stretch of coast between Dunkirk and Boulogne-sur-Mer. Dozens are ready to board each dinghy, which often wait for them in shallow water: the so-called 'taxi boats'. When the police, often heavily outnumbered, try to intercept them, things can turn ugly in the time it takes reinforcements to come. 'Imagine a situation when you have 50 of them waiting to get on a boat,' said Laroye, 55, who for the past few years has been on secondment to Unsa, a police trade union. 'They have paid thousands of euros and can see the English coast in the distance in front of them, and three police officers turn up and try to stop them from getting on board. Often they will start pelting the police with stones. They have their shields but I know colleagues who have still got hurt. 'It can start when they are still walking down the road. Their aim isn't to hurt the officers. They just don't want to be stopped from getting to the beach.' Regular police — whether from the border force or units that are increasingly drafted in — are forbidden from speaking directly to the media. But they can make their feelings felt through Laroye and others seconded to the various police trade unions permitted to speak on their behalf. The impression they give is growing frustration among officers on the front line tasked with preventing migrants from crossing. There is also anger at accusations from Britain that they do not do enough to stop migrants, in part because of French operating procedures that have hitherto barred them from interfering with a boat once it is in the water, for fear of endangering those packed on board. Stopping the 'small boats' is certain to dominate President Macron's talks with Sir Keir Starmer during his state visit to Britain this week. The government appears to be pinning its hopes on plans by the French to change the rules, allowing officers to stop migrant dinghies even when they are at sea — provided they are within 300 metres of the coast. For this reason, Downing Street seized on footage shot by the BBC on Friday near Boulogne-sur-Mer showing police from the Compagnie de Marche, a specialist unit trained to deal with public disorder, charging into shallow water and slashing the sides of a dinghy. Onboard were dozens of scrambling migrants. No 10 called it a 'significant moment' that could have a 'major impact' on smuggling gangs. A further eight boats, carrying a total of 517 people, nevertheless made it successfully across the English Channel on that day alone, according to Home Office figures. This took the numbers so far this year to a new record of just over 20,000, a 50 per cent surge over the same period last year, despite Starmer's vow last July to 'smash the gangs' and 'stop the boats'. • Labour's first year: is Keir Starmer keeping his promises? The French interior ministry declined to confirm a change of tactics. A spokesman said six officers, 'detecting immediate danger', intervened at about 8.30am French time in a 'proportionate manner' to 'avoid any risk to the passengers', adding: 'No one was injured or required emergency care.' It followed a similar incident on June 13, further north near Gravelines, when two officers also from the Compagnie de Marche waded into waist-deep water to prevent migrants boarding a waiting 'taxi boat'. The local prefecture cited a 'need to safeguard human life', which it said 'takes precedence over all other considerations'. The scenes raised eyebrows among police themselves. 'Officers are weighed down with kilos of kit,' said Laroye. 'If they get knocked over by a wave they may not be able to get up.' Even the slightest drop of corrosive salt water will destroy the gun that French police routinely carry strapped to their waist. Authorities already appear to have been quietly changing their rules of engagement in recent years, according to French media reports, although it has failed to make a dent in the numbers. Internal memos issued by the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea dated November 2022 and 2023, seen by the television station TV1, authorise forces to intervene at sea to control 'taxi boats', provided they are less than 200 metres off the coast and do not carry more than than three people — presumably the smugglers waiting to pick migrants up. • The asylum seeker who became London's £12m migrant smuggler Police officers who will have to implement the new rules have poured cold water on British hopes that they will make a substantial difference. There is a difference between slashing a boat in shallow water and doing so 100, 200 or 300 metres out to sea, according to Julien Soir, a police officer and official with Alliance Nationale Police, a rival union. 'If we want to intervene in this 300-meter range, we would have to have enormous resources,' he explained. 'You need boats, you need people who are trained, you need a lot of things.' Officers also fear they could face prosecution if migrants die as a result of their intervention. 'If you intercept a taxi boat and make someone fall out and drown, then you as a policeman will be held responsible,' said Régis Debut, a colleague of Laroye's at Unsa. 'The charities would have a field day', he added, in reference to vocal groups that champion the interest of migrants. Meanwhile thousands of migrants, largely from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, continue to arrive on the French Channel coast where they sleep rough while waiting to cross. Most evenings, around 7pm or 8pm, columns of people can be seen walking from one encampment near Gravelines, apparently on their way to a meeting point in the dunes behind the beach that has been given to them by the smugglers. Often they will take a bus from a terminal in front of the nearby out-of-town shopping centre. 'A whole group of them will get on and then suddenly get off at a stop in the middle of nowhere,' a driver waiting there said. The boats leave from a different point each evening as the traffickers, part of what — with crossings costing up to €5,000 per person — has become a major multimillion pound business, strive to stay one step ahead of the police. The next morning those that have failed make the journey back to their tents. I encountered one such group on Friday, clutching flimsy life jackets. 'The police stopped us just as we were trying to board,' said one angry Iranian man. Similar scenes are repeated up and down the coast. Others are picked up by police, either on the streets or on buses, and taken in to have their identity checked and nationality established. Many, though, are from countries that refuse to take back their citizens and so are then released, giving them the chance to attempt the crossing again. @Peter_Conradi
Sinar Daily
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Why Southeast Asians marched for Gaza and why the movement is far from over
From different walks of life activists, students, mothers, artists, professionals they came together to join the Global March to Gaza, a multinational civil society campaign calling for an end to the inhumane blockade on Gaza. By REVDA SELVER 19 Jun 2025 07:27pm Indonesian Muslims attend a rally in support of the ?Global March to Gaza? at Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Bekasi, West Java on June 15, 2025. (Photo by Aditya Irawan / AFP) Last week, dozens of Malaysians and Indonesians left their homes with nothing but conviction in their hearts. From different walks of life activists, students, mothers, artists, professionals they came together to join the Global March to Gaza, a multinational civil society campaign calling for an end to the inhumane blockade on Gaza. They were not politicians or diplomats. They were ordinary people taking an extraordinary stand representing a region that has, time and again, voiced deep solidarity with Palestine. The march brought over 4,000 participants from more than 80 countries to Cairo. Their goal was peaceful: to approach the Rafah crossing and call for unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza, where over two million people remain trapped under siege. Among them was the Southeast Asian delegation known as 'Qafla Al-Samoud,' made up of volunteers from Malaysia and Indonesia who believed it was time to on June 14, the mission was halted. Participants were blocked in Ismailia. Some were detained, others deported. A protester holds a placard depicting French-Palestinian lawyer and member of European Parliament for La France Insoumise (LFI) party Rima Hassan during a pro-Palestinian demonstration called by several French unions in Paris on June 14, 2025. French Democratic Confederation of Labour trade union (CFDT), French trade union General Confederation of Labour (CGT), French National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (Unsa) Unsa, French group of trade unions Union syndicale Solidaires (SUD) and French trade union "Federation Syndicale Unitaire" (FSU) are calling for people to join "the mobilisation for Palestine" on June 14, 2025 and denounce "the Israeli authorities mortifying headlong rush and the atrocities" in Gaza, according to a joint statement. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP) Threats of violence, confiscation of passports, and prolonged holding at checkpoints made clear that although no official ban was declared the march would not be allowed to proceed. This was not due to Israeli interference, as many first assumed. Instead, it was Egyptian authorities who imposed the restrictions. For a peaceful campaign that operated within Egyptian law and coordinated with embassies, the message was deeply troubling: solidarity is seen as a threat. Yet, what they tried to stop on the ground only grew stronger across the globe. From Mexico to Cyprus, more than 50 parallel actions were carried out. The Freedom Flotilla's 'Madeleine' ship set sail from Italy, carrying aid and international hope before being intercepted by Israeli forces. Despite physical setbacks, these efforts have reignited a wave of public support for Palestine not just in the Middle East, but globally. The Southeast Asian presence in the march is 'historic.' Because these weren't just protests, they were proof that the people of Southeast Asia refuse to be complicit in genocide. They marched for every child under rubble, every parent grieving, every classroom destroyed. They marched because silence is no longer an option. Now that the campaign has concluded, the next phase must begin: sustained pressure, legal action, media awareness, and regional mobilisation. We must continue to raise our voices, support humanitarian efforts and hold power to account. The Global March to Gaza is not over. It is only just beginning. Revda Selver is Friends of Palestine Public Relation and Media Executive. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily. More Like This
Forbes
23-03-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Trump Administration's Attack On DEI Threatens Health For Everyone
A woman holds a cardboard sign reading 'Tubal ligation of Trump'. Thousands of women and men take to ... More the streets of Toulouse, France, on March 8, 2025, for International Women's Day. This year, the motto focuses on sexism, the far-right, Trump, and sexual violence. One theme of the protest addresses US President D. Trump, who bars words like 'woman, women, gender, transgender, sexism, machism, etc.' from governmental websites. Trump also terminates the D.E.I. (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs and demands that corporations cut all DEI initiatives. Protesters aim to raise awareness about sexism, machism, and the disparity of rights between men and women in society. Protesters also denounce rape, sexual violence, and violence towards women. Trade unions such as CGT, FSU, and Unsa are also present at the march. (Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The Trump administration's attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has many public health experts concerned about the future of healthcare in America. Since assuming the presidency in January, Trump has terminated key health advisory committees, including the Health Equity Advisory Committee for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In addition, words like 'health disparity', 'inclusion', 'health equity' and 'inclusion' are being removed from federal databases, research and websites. In fact, research projects that use such words are at risk of getting terminated altogether. The undermining of DEI initiatives is not solely an attack on racial or minority groups, it actually threatens healthcare for all Americans. Here is why. It is absolutely true that certain groups have more adverse outcomes for health when compared to White Americans. Black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer when compared to White women. Nearly 17% of Hispanics have no health insurance coverage, compared to 5.3% of non-Hispanic White Americans. DEI programs do not exclusively promote racial and ethnic groups. As an example, consider White Americans living in predominantly rural areas. DEI initiatives offer funding, research and care to underserved rural areas, often in areas where White Americans make up the majority of the population. It is well known that those that live in rural areas have a 20% higher death rate than Americans that live in urban areas, often from chronic diseases like heart failure and cancer. In addition, many White Americans are less likely to get screening tests for important cancers, which can lead to delayed diagnosis, early disability and even death. Lack of funding and support for DEI programs will not just affect minorities in America, it will have profound and devastating effects even for White Americans living in rural areas. Nearly 35 million White Americans live in rural areas, according to the University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy. Cuts for DEI initiatives will also affect nearly all Americans, including White Americans that live in urban areas. Consider infectious diseases that do not have borders and can spread very easily through travel and close contact. When NIH funding for research or services gets cut for projects specifically examining health disparities for diseases like HIV or TB, it is not simply the health of racial minorities or underserved populations that is at stake. Less funding means less resources and preventive measures to help control and combat these infectious diseases. This ultimately translates into more people that will get infected with these diseases, with the potential of spreading it to all Americans, including White Americans in urban neighborhoods. Healthcare and particularly infectious diseases do not operate in a vacuum. As a final example, consider the effect of DEI on medical education and the medical workforce. By eliminating funding for medical schools and programs that foster DEI, not only will there be less people of color graduating from medical schools, there will also be less funding for medical schools, hospitals and clinics in rural areas and low-income neighborhoods. This means all Americans that live in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas will continue to face barriers in accessing high quality healthcare. This includes White Americans of low-income and those that live in rural areas who will face challenges in filling prescriptions, getting screening studies as well as visiting their primary care doctor. The attacks on DEI are much more than meets the eye. By dismantling these programs, health disparities will continue to soar, not just for racial minorities but for essentially all Americans. Healthcare should seek to improve health outcomes for all people, and should never be driven by political agendas that ignore the reality of systemic inequities that have been pervasive in America.
