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French police agree to intercept migrant ‘taxi boats’ at sea
Holly BancroftHome Affairs Correspondent Friday 28 November 2025 12:47 GMTComments
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French police will intercept small boats at sea in an attempt to stop migrants crossing the Channel.
A document seen by French newspaper Le Monde, signed by four prefectures in the north of France, agrees that maritime police will start “planned operations” to intercept the dinghies. The push-backs will start initially at sea, and then be conducted in the “inland waters” of ports and channels, the paper reported.
Sir Keir Starmer reportedly sent a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron putting pressure on him to act on small boat crossings. The letter, quoted by French media, says: “It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month...We have no effective deterrent in the Channel”.
France’s maritime gendarmerie will attempt to intercept ‘taxi boat’ dinghies that cruise along the shore to pick up migrants wanting to cross the Channel. They are referred to as ‘taxi boats’ because they wait offshore for migrants to wade out to them.
The method has grown because the French police have previously been wary of intervening once the dinghy is in the water. Now police boats will try to stop the small boats, with one vessel dedicated to rescue operations.
open image in galleryFrench police vessels look on as migrants wade into the sea to try and board a dinghy to cross the English Channel on August 25, 2025 in Gravelines, France. (Getty Images)Maritime police will be expected to employ a range of measures to try and get the small boats to stop, starting with an order to halt, followed by “immobilising the vessel” and diverting it.
Then-home secretary Yvette Cooper said in April this year that the French had agreed to change their rules and stop small boats in the water. However the plans reportedly faltered amid political turmoil in the French government.
Responding to the news that the French would start intercepting boats, a government spokesperson said: “We continue to work closely with our French partners on the shared challenge of illegal migration, and we have already worked to ensure officers in France review their maritime tactics so they can intervene in shallow waters”.
A No 10 spokesman said: "As you know, we never comment on reported leaks of private correspondence.
"You'll be aware that the prime minister and president Macron speak regularly on this topic, and we always want to go further on our work with our French partners on tackling illegal migration.”
open image in galleryMigrants walk past French police officers after failing to board a dinghy to cross the English Channel on August 25, 2025 in Gravelines, France. French authorities have reportedly agreed to start intercepting dinghies in the Channel. (Getty Images)Steve Smith, CEO at Care4Calais, said: “This is a dangerous moment, that will cost more lives. Intercepting boats whilst they are in the water has never been done before because, quite frankly, it puts people at risk.”
He added: “All these new enforcement tactics will do is risk more lives as French police hostility, such as intercepting boats in the water, forces people to take ever dangerous measures in order to seek sanctuary in the UK.”
It comes after new statistics released on Thursday revealed that 51,000 people had arrived in the UK by irregular routes in the year up to September, with 46,000 people making the perilous journey across the Channel.
Small boat arrivals were up 53 per cent on the previous year. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood recently announced sweeping reforms to the asylum system in a bid to deter the rising number of migrants coming to the UK.
Under the plans, refugee status is to become temporary, with sanctuary grants subject to regular review every 30 months.
This is a developing story. More to follow...
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