France backing away from pledge to intercept migrant boats, sources tell BBC

France is backing away from its latest pledge to intervene more forcefully at sea to prevent small boats crossing the English Channel, according to multiple sources contacted by the BBC.

There is evidence that it is partly responsible for the current political turmoil in France, but this will come as a blow to the UK government’s attempts to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, dangerously overcrowded inflatable boats continue to leave the shore almost daily through a shallow tidal channel near Dunkirk harbour.

While Martin Hewitt, the man in charge of border security in the UK, has expressed “disappointment” at the delays in France, the BBC has heard from some sources in France that promises of a new “maritime doctrine” under which patrol boats will try to catch inflatable boats and pull them back to shore are hollow.

“It’s just a political stunt. It’s very blah,” said one figure closely connected to French maritime security.

Former Home Secretary Bruno Retailleau was widely credited, particularly in the UK, for taking a more aggressive approach across the Channel.

This culminated in a summit between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last July.

At the time, the focus was on plans to intercept so-called “taxi boats”, which are used by smugglers to sail close to the coastline and pick up passengers already in the water.

French police rarely intervene in overcrowded taxis because they pose such a great risk to officers and civilians alike.

But days before the summit, We witnessed the French police entering the seaSouth of Boulogne, to cut off the sides of a taxi boat that was caught in the waves and was drifting towards the shore.

In London, the prime minister’s spokesman was quick to react to our footage, calling it “a truly important moment” and evidence that the French were starting to take tougher action to stop small boats on the coast and possibly at sea.

Shortly afterwards, a well-placed source in the French interior ministry told the BBC that policy changes were imminent.

“Following the revision of the doctrine, we will start interventions at sea in the next few days,” the source said.

But Retailleau has since lost his ministerial post due to several recent chaotic changes, and the distracted French government appears focused on other crises.

Peter Walsh, who researches the issue at the Oxford Migration Observatory, said: “It is possible that new measures at sea will never be implemented.”

Meanwhile, migrant boats are still leaving France, and not just from the beaches.

A retired chip shop owner who lives next to a canal just inland from the beach at Gravelines said he saw four exits in one day.

He showed us videos of the boats, including footage of people boarding the boat in the middle of the canal, and recently footage of a police patrol boat circling another inflatable boat and not trying to stop it from leaving.

“This is crazy, crazy, crazy. You have to stop the boats,” Jean Deldicque said.

A maritime expert, who asked that we not use their names because of their close ties to the state, said the Canal de L’Aa was shallow enough for security forces to intervene without seriously endangering people’s lives.

Other canals and rivers in the area are sometimes blocked with ropes or chains, but these often prove ineffective against highly adaptable smuggling rings.

While French politics have clearly played a role in blocking the British government’s attempts to slow the number of small boat crossings, legal and moral issues are also proving vital.

The biggest obstacle to stopping inflatable boats at sea, according to many sources, is the fear that this will almost inevitably lead to more deaths and the prosecution of the security forces involved.

“The French navy is against it. They are aware that this type of mission is extremely dangerous and they risk being involved in crime and being brought to trial. This will be a disaster,” a source said.

Even a less ambitious idea, floated by British officials, to give French police greater legal latitude to intervene from beaches and go deeper into the water to stop boats was rejected. If it was truly thought through.

Current rules only allow French police and firefighters to respond to shallow water to rescue people who appear to be in imminent danger. We witnessed this clearly at Ecault beach near Boulogne in early July.

There was confusion from the beginning about France’s determination on this issue. Many French security sources told us that there was not even a remote chance that the police would stop the boats by entering the sea.

However, French unions maintained that the changes were considered and rejected.

Police union spokesman Jean-Pierre Cloez said plans floated by the interior minister earlier this year were now “on hold”.

“Then we thought [too] dangerous. For now, the rules are the same. “There’s no change in the way we do things.”

Mr. Cloez and others also cited ongoing shortages of equipment, training and personnel.

None of this means France is abandoning its commitment to patrol its beaches or stop smugglers and their boats on land.

The operation is large, complex and extends along more than 150 km (90 mi) of coastline.

The UK is paying for a significant portion of the work under the terms of the Sandhurst Agreement, which is currently being renegotiated for renewal next year.

Meanwhile, volunteer rescue teams working off the coast of northern France continue to pull people and sometimes bodies from the water.

Some volunteers expressed frustration at being repeatedly asked by maritime authorities to escort inflatable boats into British waters; This is a process that can take hours.

But they also highlighted the unique challenges faced by anyone seeking to intervene in the Canal.

“As strange as it seems, if they don’t ask for help, you can’t force them to accept it,” says Gérard Barron, president of Boulogne’s sea rescue volunteers.

“The crew reported to me that they occasionally saw blades flashing when they approached a boat carrying too many people and asked if they wanted help.

“They also occasionally saw young men holding their babies above the water and threatening to drop them if we approached.”

After 45 years of experience in the rescue field, Barron admits anger at France’s failure to do more to stop smugglers.

He thinks many lives could be saved if current rules banning flimsy, unlicensed and overcrowded boats from sailing were enforced.