France ‘may not intervene to reverse small boats in the Channel’ in blow to Starmer’s migration plan
France may reverse its pledge to forcibly turn away small boats in the Channel in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to reduce the number of migrants coming to the UK, according to reports.
France is backing away from that commitment amid political turmoil in the French government, according to sources who spoke to him. BBC.
Then-interior minister Yvette Cooper said in April that she had “persuaded France to change its rules” and that the French agreed to intervene to stop the crossings when migrants entered the water.
Previously, the French police did not take active steps against the migrants after they entered the water due to the danger to their lives. Ms Cooper promised in April that changes would come “within the next few months”, and French police officers were filmed by the media in July wading into shallow waters and slashing a small inflatable boat with knives.
Sources told the BBC the plan to intercept the bots has been stopped. A person associated with French maritime security said it was “just a political show”.
The canal’s maritime authority also said the new plan was “still under review”.
The plan was adopted when Yvette Cooper was interior minister and Bruno Retailleau was French interior minister. Both are no longer in office; Ms Cooper left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr Retailleau left the government when Sébastien Lecornu of the conservative Republican Party became prime minister of France.
A spokesman for Utopia 56, the French charity which supports refugees awaiting the dangerous crossing to the UK, said: Independent He said they did not see the police using new tactics.
But they added: “But the police presence is still very important and violence is often used. Sometimes they do not hesitate to tread water to cut off the boat – something they have been doing since 2022. There is also the complete abandonment of people in distress in the aftermath.”
French police have been using push-back tactics with people overseas for several years. reportedly dying or missing At sea after a collision between migrant boats and police.
French border police boats were seen following immigrant boats off the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.
The news comes after a migrant sent back to France under a one-to-one out program returned to the UK after crossing the Channel on a small boat.
While the government has promised to send the man back, Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister said people would be sent back “over and over again” if they returned.
He told Times Radio on Thursday: “The government’s message is really clear that if you come here illegally and cross the border, you will be deported when we extend France’s return agreement.
“You will go back to France. The money you spent will be wasted. And if you do it again and again, you will come back again and again.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We will do whatever it takes to protect our borders and prevent migrants from entering the country in small boats.
“France is a critical partner in the fight against illegal immigration and we continue to work closely together as we review the Maritime Doctrine, which will allow officers to intervene in shallow waters. We want to see these new tactics implemented as soon as possible.
“And thanks to our landmark agreement with the French, people crossing in small boats can now be detained and removed.”
