Plans to stop Channel migrants in small boats too risky, say French police unions

Policing leaders fear prosecution in cases of death or injury

Migrants attempt to board an inflatable dinghy leaving the coast of northern France to cross the English Channel to reach Britain. Reuters

French police unions have reportedly opposed a new strategy approved by the Interior Ministry under UK pressure to intercept migrants in small boats leaving French shores.

Police have been urged to use more aggressive tactics, including stopping vessels already at sea in shallow waters, up to 300 metres from the shore.

This strategy is generally avoided by French police because it can lead to death or injury. Security forces tend to intervene on land instead, including by puncturing boats with knives.

Yet pressure is high on France to change its policing strategies. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed when he was elected last year to bring down the number of arrivals by small boats but they increased by 18 per cent to reach more than 41,000 in 2025. Most of them obtain asylum.

At least 26 people have died attempting the crossing, mostly by drowning or asphyxiation in overcrowded boats. Most of the migrants come from the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, Iran and Afghanistan.

An inflatable boat punctured by police lies on the beach at Gravelines, northern France. AP

In July, France and the UK agreed on new interception methods and a "one-in, one-out" policy, meaning Britain would send migrants back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with ties to Britain. Small boat migrants will be "detained and sent back", Mr Starmer said at the time.

In November, the new methods were approved by French authorities. Confidential documents obtained by French daily newspaper Le Monde revealed maritime police had been charged with conducting interception operations at sea.

So-called taxi boats, which pick up migrants in shallow water to avoid police interference, had an 81 per cent success rate and accounted for more than half of arrivals in 2025, the report said. They transported an average of 67 people compared to 45 in 2023.

The French decision was not made public. The National has contacted the Interior Ministry for comment.

'Panic on board'

However, it appears the new plans have yet to be implemented due to concerns among police unions that personnel could be prosecuted should migrants die or be physically injured.

Meetings with the judiciary have reportedly taken place in the past month for police to obtain guarantees they would be protected – to no avail.

An Interior Ministry source told British newspaper The Mail on Sunday: “The police want guarantees that there will be no prosecutions in case of death or injury, but prosecutors say that is impossible. Meetings between lawyers and police chiefs have taken place over the past month, but the judicial authorities remain firm – there will be no waiving of criminal liability if things go wrong.”

Interior Minister and former head of Paris police Laurent Nunez, who was appointed in October, is said to be "concerned" about the risk of prosecution facing French police. The new plans had been approved by his predecessor, Bruno Retailleau, who had vowed to adopt a more hardline approach to migration.

One of France's biggest police unions, Alliance, said: "If there are 80 or more people on a dinghy, including women and children, police would be taking a big risk if they try to stop them and people fall into the water or the boat capsizes."

Last month, Cedric Castes, national delegate for the Border Police Unit, told French broadcaster France 24 that boarding ships at sea could "create panic on board". He said he was surprised by the government's decision. "What seems complicated to me is the legal responsibility in the event of a tragedy," he added.

Interior Minister and former head of Paris police Laurent Nunez, who was appointed in October, is concerned about the risk of legal prosecution facing French police. AFP

One option under study to stop migrant boats at sea is to throw fishing nets at their motors, a joint investigation published last month by Le Monde and Dutch website Lighthouse Reports found. "The major risk is that of collision," it said, quoting commercial documents obtained from a French fishing net company. It added that "the responsibility for avoiding collision lies with the intercepting boat".

Unions appear eager to avoid a repeat of the scandal caused in July by the death of two migrants from Comoros in a small boat bound for the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. In the English Channel separating Britain and France, seven French military personnel have been under investigation since 2021 after a botched rescue operation of a small boat that sank, killing 27 people, mostly from Iraqi Kurdistan.