France Reconsiders Commitment to Stop Migrant Boat Crossings Amid Political Turmoil

Fri Dec 05 2025 05:25:10 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Internal political struggles in France lead to a retreat from previously promised measures to intercept migrant boats in the English Channel, leaving UK efforts to tackle the issue in jeopardy.

As France's political landscape shifts, the government is stepping back from its pledge to enforce stricter maritime measures against migrant boats crossing the English Channel. This change promises further complications for the UK, which has been aiming to curb such crossings. Despite evidence of daily crossings from the French coast, frustrations grow over the lack of action from French authorities, raising concerns about the safety of those attempting the perilous journey.

France is backing away from a recent commitment to intervene more forcefully at sea to stop small boats from crossing the English Channel, according to multiple sources contacted by the BBC.

There is evidence that France's current political turmoil is partly to blame, but it will come as a blow to the UK government's attempts to tackle the issue.

In the meantime, dangerously overcrowded inflatable boats continue to leave the coast on an almost daily basis, from a shallow tidal canal near the port of Dunkirk.

While the man in charge of border security in the UK, Martin Hewitt, has already expressed frustration at French delays, the BBC has now heard from a number of sources in France that promises of a new maritime doctrine - which would see patrol boats attempt to intercept inflatable boats and pull them back to shore – are hollow.

It's just a political stunt. It's much blah-blah, said one figure closely linked to French maritime security.

The maritime prefecture for the Channel told the BBC that the new doctrine on taxi-boats was still being studied.

Former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was widely credited, not least in the UK, with driving a more aggressive approach in the Channel. That culminated last July with a summit between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The focus then was on plans to intercept the so-called taxi boats now used by the smugglers to cruise close to the coastline, collecting passengers already standing in the water.

But days before the summit, we witnessed French police wading into the sea to slash the sides of a taxi-boat as it drifted close to shore.

In London, the Prime Minister's spokesman reacted immediately to our footage, calling it a really significant moment and proof that the French were already starting to take tougher action. Soon afterwards, a source in the French interior ministry told the BBC that policy changes were imminent.

However, since the departure of Retailleau, the French government's focus seems directed towards other crises, raising doubts about the actual implementation of new measures at sea.

Meanwhile, retired residents near Gravelines have reported seeing multiple boats leaving in a single day, often unhindered by law enforcement. A marine expert indicated the Canal de L'Aa is shallow enough for security forces to intervene without risk to life, yet the political will remains absent.

Legal and moral implications continue to obstruct decisive actions against the migrant boats, highlighting the complex challenges faced by French authorities amid rising numbers of crossings.

It's going to be a disaster, warned one source, reflecting fears within the French navy about operational realities that come with enforcing stricter measures against migrant crossings.