PARIS – France is preparing to start intercepting at sea the boats used to ferry migrants to England, according to an official document dated 25 November.
French authorities had until now ruled that at-sea interceptions were too dangerous for human life. But at a summit last July, Paris and London agreed to step up controls.
In the letter obtained by Le Monde, the Channel’s maritime prefect and the prefects of the Nord, Somme and Pas-de-Calais departments say the operations will target “taxi-boats upstream of the phases during which migrants board”.
French law enforcement officers will now be authorised to stop the dinghies that skirt the coastline to pick up passengers who have already waded into the water – a tactic intended to avoid the boats being immobilised on the beaches.
Interceptions could involve nets deployed to jam the propellers of smugglers’ vessels.
According to an interior ministry source also quoted by Le Monde, five or six teams – each including “a maritime gendarmerie boat for interceptions and a navy vessel positioned in case rescue is required” – are expected to be deployed along the French coast.
For Utopia 56, an NGO supporting exiles, such operations risk “placing would-be crossers in even greater danger”.
More than 40,000 people have successfully crossed the Channel since the start of 2025, and at least 25 have died. More than 190,000 people have reached the British coast since crossings became widespread in late 2018.
The tightening of France’s migration policy comes as Paris is negotiating with the United Kingdom the release of new funds to secure the Franco-British border for the 2026–2029 period. Over the past three years, London’s financial contribution has amounted to €541 million.
In early November, the two capitals also signed the “one in, one out” agreement concluded this summer, under which migrants who arrived illegally in the UK may be returned to France, in exchange for the transfer of migrants currently on French territory.
(aw)