France’s promise to cut off migrant boats has been hit by delays and political chaos
France is backing us from a recent commitment to intervene with sea power to stop small boats from crossing the English channel, according to multiple sources linked to the BBC.
There is evidence that the current political turmoil in France is to blame, but it will come as a blow to the UK Government to address the issue.
In the meantime, overpowered barges continue to leave the coast almost daily, from the shallow well near the Port of Dunkirk.
While the man in charge of border security in the UK, Martin Hewitt, has already revealed that “the BBC has already heard from the sources the promises of a new” military doctrine “- which would see the work boats trying to cross the coast – in vain.
“It’s just a political tree. There’s a lot of blah-blah,” said one person closely connected to French maritime security.
As Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau worked closely with the UK but is no longer in the French government [Reuters]
Former interior minister Bruno Retaiilleau was widely blamed, not least in the UK, for driving an aggressive approach to the station.
That opens last July with a summit between President Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer.
The focus at the time was on plans to allow so-called “taxi boats” now used by smugglers to travel seamlessly along the sea, picking up passengers from the water.
French police are allowed to intervene against overcrowded taxi boats because they are considered a serious danger to both officials and citizens.
But days before the conference, we saw the French police entering the sea, south of Boulogne, to avoid the sides of the taxi boat as it was caught in the waves and went near the sea.
Last summer a French police officer used a knife to attack a light boat full of migrants [BBC]
In London, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister responded quickly to our thread, calling it a “really important moment” and evidence that the French are already starting to take small boats to stop small boats on the coast and, possibly, at sea.
Soon after, a well-placed source in the French Interior Ministry told the BBC that policy changes were imminent.
“We will start to intervene in the sea in the next few days, after the review of the doctrine,” said Mthombo.
But since then, Bruno Retailleau has lost his job as the latest minister for several reforms, and the troubled French government seems to be focusing on other problems.
“It’s possible that (new measures at sea) are likely to happen,” said Peter Walsh, who studies the debate at Oxford’s Migration Observation.
A shallow canal in the rocks near Dunkirk has become the first stop for migrant boats leaving France [Lea Guedj/BBC]
In the meantime, migration boats are still disembarking, and not just from the beaches.
A retired chip shop owner who lives next door to a beach resort from Gravelnes beach said he saw four breaks in one day.
He showed videos of the boats, including pictures of people grazing on board in the middle of the canal, and of a police cruiser recently making illegal rounds while trying to stop it from moving.
“It’s crazy, crazy, crazy. You have to stop the boats,” said Jean Deldicque.
Jean Deldicque lives beside the canal in the grals [BBC]
A marine expert, who asked not to use their name because of their assignments close to the State, said the channel De L’AA, until it was enough to intervene in the security forces to pose a safety risk.
Some canals and rivers in the area are sometimes closed with ropes or chains, but this usually indicates the inefficiency of the smuggling gangs.
While French politicians have been involved in lobbying the British government to reduce the number of domesticated falcons, legal and ethical issues are also proving to be important.
The main obstacle, identified by several sources, to stop the inflatables at sea is the fear that it may, almost inevitably, lead to more accomplishments and to the desire of those security ceremonies involved.
Another local resident shared this photo of people swimming in the Canal and riding a dinghy [supplied]
“The French Navy is against this. They see that this type of mission is very dangerous and they risk being difficult and put in the room. It will be a disaster.
Even with a less favorable idea, he spoke of the British officials, to give more French police to intervene on the beaches until they leave the water rejected. If, in fact, it was ever really looked at.
Current laws allow French police and firefighters to intervene in shallow water to rescue people who appear to be in grave danger. It is clear what we preached at Ecault Bear near Boulogne at the beginning of July.
There was confusion from the beginning about France’s commitment to the magazine. Several French security sources have told us that having the police stop the boats entering the sea is not even a remote possibility.
But French unions suggested the reforms were taken and rejected.
Police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Cloez said the Interior Minister’s plans that were proposed earlier this year are now “in effect”.
“We thought about it when it was there [too] it is dangerous. The rules, for now, are the same. There is no change in the way we do things. “
Mr Cloez and others have all spoken about the ongoing lack of equipment, training and manpower.
None of this means that France abandons its commitment to move its beaches, or to cut off smugglers and their boats from the world.
The operation is large, complex, and stretches over 150km (90 miles) of coastline.
The UK pays a significant share of the work under the terms of the Sandhurst agreement, which is currently being renewed next year.
Meanwhile, Volovonter Rescue Crews working on the northern French Coast continue to pull people, and sometimes creatures, from the water.
Some volunteers have expressed frustration at being repeatedly asked by maritime authorities to turn dingy boats into British waters: a process that can take hours.
But they also highlight unique challenges for anyone looking to intervene in the channel.
French volunteer crews play an important role in the rescue of boats arriving in migrant groups [BBC]
“Unusual as it may seem, if they don’t ask for help, you can’t force them to accept it,” said Gérard Barron, the head of Lomwandle’s volunteers at the beach.
“The workers reported to me that on occasion, when they approached the dinghy carrying too many people and asked if they wanted help, they saw knives appear.
“From time to time they also see young men holding babies on the water, threatening to throw them if we get close.”
After 45 years of experience in Salvation, Barron admits to some frustration with France’s current failure to do more to stop traffickers.
If the existing laws against the sea for grass boats, illegal boats were enforced, he thinks that many lives will be saved.
