French police plan to use nets to stop small boats ‘risks turning Channel into a graveyard’
The government has been accused of “fueling an arms race with dangerous interventions” that could “turn the Channel into a graveyard” after it was revealed that French police would use wide nets to stop small boat crossings, despite warnings that such tactics could put lives at risk.
While France is under increasing pressure from Britain to reduce the number of small boats crossing the Channel, Labor this week stepped up efforts to deter people from crossing with a new measure.
In July, the French government announced its intention to revise maritime laws to allow ships to be stopped, but the proposal was delayed for fear it could endanger lives.
But it has now come to light that since the spring, many French law enforcement officials have been issued “arrest nets” that could be used both in efforts to curb illegal immigration and in operations targeting drug trafficking, according to a source familiar with the development.
While MPs and campaign groups condemned the action, Amnesty International described the statements as “deeply disturbing” and Refugee Action said the plans were “violent, reckless and will undoubtedly increase the risk of people dying”.
Labor MP Nadia Whittome said the use of the net was “an extreme, inhumane policy that will put lives at risk” and Rachael Maskell said she was “deeply disturbed” by the reports.
Meanwhile, Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali accused the government of “a dangerous game of political persecution that puts the lives of defenseless people at risk”.
Two sources at the French Interior Ministry told investigative newsroom Lighthouse and the French newspaper: Le Monde He said the nets would be used to stop small boats.
But Remi Vandeplanque, a French coastguard official and representative of French customs union Solidaires Douanes, warned that using such tactics to stop people in small boats trying to reach the UK would lead to deaths and that there was “no way” to carry out such maneuvers safely.
“Usually there are at least 50 people on board, sometimes more. No matter what you do, you will create panic or distress and one day disaster will happen. Maybe it will be okay once or twice the first time. But it is clear that one day there will be deaths from this,” he said.
On 30 September, a letter from the Solidaires Douanes union to French customs director-general Florian Colas condemned France’s plans to interfere with small boats at sea as “inhumane” and “absurd”. The letter warned that such tactics “risk causing ship accidents and deaths for which moral and criminal liability will rest entirely with the personnel responsible for carrying out the interventions.”
The French gendarmerie, which will carry out the intervention, is said to be concerned about the risk of loss of life and fears that police officers could face criminal investigations as a result of the deaths.
According to a source in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, “The police want guarantees. Prosecutors will have to make the grounds for prosecution very limited.”
“Impossible,” another source responded. “No judge will agree to give the police carte blanche.”
France is facing growing pressure from Britain to take tougher measures to prevent small boats from leaving its shores. The new round of funding to secure the France-UK border is due to conclude in March, and the release of British funds to France is said to be contingent on Paris providing assurances of a tighter maritime security presence.
A French government source said: “The British are putting pressure on everyone, from the most junior project manager to the minister himself.”
Tom Southerden responded to the remarks. Amnesty International’s legal program director said: Independent: “Reports that French officers may use large nets to disable small boats in the Channel are extremely disturbing.
“Deploying tactics designed to stop high-speed drug-trafficking vessels against overcrowded, unstable boats full of people seeking protection is an inherently reckless and dangerous approach.”
He added: “Instead of fueling the arms race with dangerous interventions, Britain and France should focus on expanding safe routes and improving asylum procedures. Policies that gamble with people’s lives at sea are untenable and both governments must immediately abandon any plans that risk turning the Channel into a graveyard.”
Meanwhile, Refugee Action Chief Executive Tim Naor Hilton said: “Sea retreats, such as using nets or knives to stop or cut off boats, are violent and careless and will undoubtedly increase the risk of people dying.”
Calling for the establishment of safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to access Britain, he added: “Let’s not forget that when we speak of boats, we are speaking of human beings, men, women, children, who are seeking safety and stability.”
Rose Bernstein, interim director of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, described the plans as “dangerous and risky”, while Care4Calais’ Steve Smith said it would “undoubtedly put lives at risk”.
“The fact that they choose to risk more lives with inhumane tactics like these, rather than creating safe pathways for people to safely seek asylum in the UK, is absolutely damning the moral vacuum that exists in the relationship between the UK and French governments,” he added.
Labor MP Nadia Whittome said: “This is an extreme, inhumane policy that will put lives at risk. The human cost of the government’s attempts to appease the far right is devastating.”
“Former Labor voters tell me they no longer recognize our party. This kind of tyranny is not what they voted for.”
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was contacted for comment.
