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.”
