Há 2 dias
sábado, 22 de agosto de 2026
Footage shows clash with French police on beach as dinghy tries to leave for UK
.jpeg)
Footage
shows clash with French police on beach as dinghy tries to leave for UK
Film
emerges as France says it has stopped 185 small boat ‘events’ in three months
since new £660m deal with UK
Rajeev
Syal Home affairs editor
Fri 21
Aug 2026 09.05 BST
Footage
has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach
in northern France as the authorities tried to intercept a dinghy attempting to
reach the UK.
Men
wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them
away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the
inflatable boat with a knife.
The
footage emerged as the French government said it had prevented 185 “small boat
crossing events” in the three months since a new £660m deal with the UK.
A small
boat event is defined as stopping launches, seizing equipment including boats,
engines and lifejackets, and arresting smugglers.
Since the
signing of the deal in April, extra police units have been active on French
beaches, including a 50-person riot squad.
Police
action has included interceptions on beaches and at sea, the UK Home Office
said.
Since
March, 12 “taxi boats” have been stopped from moving further up the coast and
picking up more people.
More
resources have also been dedicated to seizing boats and engines before they can
be used in the Channel.
Smuggling
gangs appear to have changed their tactics and have started putting more people
into single boats. This month, a record 230 people made the journey in one
boat.
Ministers
are keen to stress that the number of successful crossings is falling.
Charities,
however, have warned that the French police’s increasing activity is putting
asylum seekers’ lives at risk.
Utopia
56, which three weeks ago gathered evidence of 35 CS gas canisters being fired
by riot police near Dunkirk at migrants trying to reach a small boat, said at
the time: “We can see police pressure on the beach is putting more people at
risk. We saw it last week and we are seeing it now and we have seen it for some
time. It is terrible.”
A total
of 15,897 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, down 43% on the
same time last year, and an 18% drop from the same point in 2024.
Reform UK
has proposed using the Royal Navy to intercept and transport people to France
or Belgium, describing the scheme as a humanitarian response.
But
France said the plan “would be a violation of French sovereignty as well as a
violation of maritime law and international law”.
The UK
home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “Our new UK-France deal is already
having a real impact, stopping crossings before they happen and disrupting the
criminal gangs behind them.
“People
smugglers should be in no doubt, we’re taking down their operations, seizing
their equipment and breaking their business model for good.
“Through
our joint work with France, we have stopped over 47,000 small boat crossing
attempts since the election and we will not let up.”
Border
Security Command’s Charlie Eastaugh said: “Our partnership with France is
stronger than ever. Together, we are piling the pressure on the criminal gangs
and preventing these illegal and dangerous crossings.
“French
officers are not shy in taking bold action to prevent these launches where it
is safe and lawful to do so. They work in difficult and dangerous conditions to
stop boats launching, seize equipment and disperse large migrant groups as well
as saving thousands of lives at sea.
“Our
joint efforts are delivering results, and we will go further still to restore
control of our borders and put these smugglers out of business.”
Subscrever:
Mensagens (Atom)
