French authorities say 185 small boat events and more than 4,300 crossing attempts were prevented during the first three months of a new UK-France agreement, with additional police units, drones and maritime interception tactics now in use.
French police prevented 185 small boat events and more than 4,300 attempted crossings during the first three months of a new UK-France agreement, according to figures provided by French authorities, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The figures cover the period between 27 April and 2 August and were published by the Home Office on 21 August. According to the department, French units funded under the agreement stopped 61% of small boat events during the period, with activity including preventing launches, seizing boats, engines and lifejackets, and arresting suspected people smugglers. The Home Office said the prevention rate was nearly 5% higher than during the equivalent period in 2025.
French reporting cited by the Home Office also recorded four weeks during the three-month period in which every identified potential crossing event was intercepted. The government said action on the French side directly prevented more than 4,300 crossing attempts, while additional attempts may have been disrupted before groups reached beaches. The figures are based on information supplied by the French authorities rather than an independent UK count.
The measures have included direct intervention on beaches and against so-called taxi boats used to collect migrants from stretches of coastline after launching elsewhere. Since the first deployment of new maritime tactics on 3 March, French units have intercepted 12 taxi boats on the water, according to the Home Office, including three during the two weeks preceding the announcement. The stated aim is to prevent boats moving along the coast and taking additional passengers aboard before attempting the Channel crossing.
Examples provided by the government include an operation south of Calais in May in which French units located three groups totalling nearly 100 people alongside a boat concealed in vegetation, four cans of petrol and an engine. In another May operation, police intercepted a vehicle containing a boat, engine, three fuel cans and a fuel tank and arrested a suspected smuggler. Two suspected traffickers were arrested in June after officers found a boat and fuel cans in another vehicle, while in July a Gendarmerie drone detected a group transporting a boat engine, leading officers to locate and seize a vessel.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, as quoted in a news update: “Our new UK-France deal is already having a real impact, stopping crossings before they happen and disrupting the criminal gangs behind them.” She added: “People smugglers should be in no doubt, we’re taking down their operations, seizing their equipment and breaking their business model for good.” Mahmood said more than 47,000 small boat crossing attempts had been prevented since the government took office.
The agreement has also expanded the French policing presence. Two additional police units are operating on French beaches, including a new 50-person riot police unit intended to contain and disperse large groups. The Home Office said France is also introducing millions of pounds worth of drone surveillance, two additional helicopters and a new camera surveillance system for operations against smugglers and attempted crossings.
A separate trial launched on 1 May allows French authorities to remove people from beaches and place them in detention. Statistics supplied by France and cited by the Home Office show that 119 people had been detained under the trial. The department said 76 remained in detention and 32 had been released, while 40 people detained under the scheme had been deported from France either to their countries of origin or to other European Union states through which they had travelled. A permanent immigration removal centre is also being constructed in Dunkirk.
Charlie Eastaugh, Director of Maritime and Small Boats at Border Security Command, said, as quoted in the same news update: “Our partnership with France is stronger than ever. Together, we are piling the pressure on the criminal gangs and preventing these illegal and dangerous crossings.” He added that French officers were taking action where it was considered safe and lawful to stop launches, seize equipment and disperse groups before boats entered the Channel.
Something at least.
But until the carrot is removed there is no deterrent and so this will continue.
This article is bullshit.
It is not about how many boats are stopped it is about how many get through.