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.
While French police rarely intervene against the overcrowded taxi-boats, fearing the risks to both officers and civilians, local investigations have shown that boats continue to leave despite the lack of proactive enforcement. Many concerned residents and volunteer rescue groups are frustrated by the situation and the apparent lack of a cohesive, enforceable policy to prevent dangerous crossings.
Current French policies seem to limit police and firefighters' ability to intervene to mere rescues rather than enforcement, posing a moral and legal dilemma about their responsibilities in safeguarding lives versus political pressures concerning migration control. The local and national discourse continues to evolve amidst underlying tensions regarding the UK's dependence on France for controlling cross-Channel migration.
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.
While French police rarely intervene against the overcrowded taxi-boats, fearing the risks to both officers and civilians, local investigations have shown that boats continue to leave despite the lack of proactive enforcement. Many concerned residents and volunteer rescue groups are frustrated by the situation and the apparent lack of a cohesive, enforceable policy to prevent dangerous crossings.
Current French policies seem to limit police and firefighters' ability to intervene to mere rescues rather than enforcement, posing a moral and legal dilemma about their responsibilities in safeguarding lives versus political pressures concerning migration control. The local and national discourse continues to evolve amidst underlying tensions regarding the UK's dependence on France for controlling cross-Channel migration.
