France is deploying new police surge teams to beaches further west along its coastline as the UK and French governments respond to people-smuggling gangs using larger “mega-dinghies” and shifting launch sites away from the traditional northern Channel corridor.
The move was confirmed by Downing Street ahead of Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in London on Thursday, with small-boat crossings among the issues on the agenda.
Under the latest enforcement expansion, a 45-officer surge team is due to be deployed in the coming weeks to western beaches in France. The Government says the deployment will nearly triple French policing resources in the area and is specifically intended to tackle launches taking place further along the coast, including the emerging use of much larger inflatable boats.
French intelligence unit expanded
The UK and France are also expanding specialist intelligence and enforcement capacity directed at the organised criminal networks behind Channel crossings.
A French intelligence and judicial unit has increased from 18 to 30 officers, with a remit to identify, disrupt and help prosecute people-smuggling networks.
A separate 75-officer specialist unit dedicated to tackling small-boat crossings is now active in northern France. According to the Government, the combined operation now involves nearly 1,050 French officers.
The latest measures follow the deployment earlier this summer of a 50-officer specialist public-order unit trained in crowd-control tactics and equipment, intended to deal with violent incidents and hostile crowds during attempted launches.
Government targets changing smuggler tactics
The new western surge reflects a continuing change in the tactics used by smuggling gangs.
Official assessments have previously warned that enforcement pressure around established departure points can push launches to different parts of the coast. The Border Security Commander’s latest annual report said there were signs of geographical displacement, including launches from beaches further south in France and a small number from Belgium.
It also described gangs adapting through tactics including simultaneous launches, “taxi-boats” collecting migrants offshore and the dangerous overloading of vessels.
Downing Street said the new surge teams are intended in part to counter the emerging use of “mega-dinghies” — larger boats capable of carrying greater numbers of people and potentially being launched or collected from a wider range of locations.
Burnham: UK and France must stay ahead of gangs
Burnham said the two countries could not afford to become complacent as criminal networks altered their methods.
“Smuggling gangs are constantly adapting their tactics, and the UK and France need to respond quickly and stay one step ahead,” the Prime Minister said.
He described small boats as a shared European challenge and said cooperation with France and other international partners would remain central to the Government’s border strategy.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said officer numbers were being increased to what the Government describes as record levels and claimed that more than 48,000 attempted crossings had been prevented.
Lowest summer arrivals since 2020, Government says
The Government says the UK recorded its lowest number of small-boat arrivals during the summer since 2020.
That is an official Government claim contained in the Downing Street announcement. Burnham also told the House of Commons on 1 September that summer arrivals had been halved compared with the previous year and that the year-to-date total was the lowest since 2021.
Separate Home Office figures published in August said French units prevented 185 small-boat crossing events between 27 April and 2 August, with French reporting indicating that 61 per cent of attempted events were stopped during that period.
Those figures measure attempted crossing events rather than simply the number of people arriving in Britain, so the two sets of statistics are not directly interchangeable.
Macron talks go beyond migration
Channel crossings will form only part of Macron’s Downing Street talks with Burnham.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss European support for Ukraine ahead of the winter, efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, European defence and closer UK-EU economic cooperation.
But the immigration measures provide the most immediate operational announcement from the meeting: additional officers are being moved to parts of the French coast where the Government believes smuggling activity is changing.
The significance of the deployment will ultimately depend on whether the added presence can prevent gangs simply shifting launch sites again or adapting their tactics further.
For now, the UK and France are responding by widening the geographic reach of French enforcement and putting more specialist intelligence and policing resources into the effort to stop boats before they leave the French coast.