The UK is pressuring France to tighten its approach to small boat crossings, following a record 1,100 migrant arrivals in a single day over the weekend.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament on Monday that the British government has called on France to allow police intervention once migrants are in the water—an action currently restricted under French law.
Cooper stated, “The French interior minister and the French cabinet have now agreed their rules need to change.” She added that a maritime review is underway in France to explore new operational strategies and urged French authorities to implement changes swiftly. “There are further discussions underway this week,” she confirmed.
Opposition MPs have criticized the current arrangements, arguing that organized crime groups are exploiting a legal loophole that limits police intervention once boats have launched. Conservative MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the “French prevention rate on land is lamentably under 40%.” He also noted, “The French are not stopping these boats at sea, as the Belgians do.”
Philp has called for tougher action, suggesting the UK suspend a recent agreement granting EU fishing vessels access to British waters until 2038 unless France improves its at-sea enforcement. “The French agree to stop those small boats at sea,” he insisted.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau previously announced plans to amend legislation to allow police action within 300 metres of the coast. Currently, French police are only authorized to intervene on land unless conducting a rescue. “The maritime prefecture takes over once migrants are in water,” Sliman Hamzi, a police union representative, told TF1 Info.
Cooper pushed back against Philp’s criticism, referencing his record as a former immigration minister. “We won’t take lessons from a former immigration minister who let legal migration treble and small boat crossings soar more than tenfold on his watch,” she said.
