Dozens of police are guarding an empty beachside property linked to French President Emmanuel Macron, despite French authorities struggling to stop migrant 'mega dinghies' launching just a few miles away. The seaside villa in the affluent town of Le Touquet, around 20 miles south of Boulogne, has been bought by a family real estate firm linked to Mr Macron's wife Brigitte.
Migrant launches continue nearby
Le Touquet is part of the Côte d'Opale region of northern France, which has become a target for small boat people smugglers launching vessels packed with record numbers of migrants. Last week almost 100 migrants had to be rescued from their stricken vessel after it launched from the town's beach. On August 13, a so-called 'mega dinghy' set sail for the UK from nearby Berck-sur-Mer, just nine miles south.
Criminal gangs are having huge success after changing tactics to embark further south from traditional launch points near Calais and Dunkirk. As part of a new deal with Paris, Labour has handed over £662 million of British taxpayer cash to bolster struggling French forces supposedly trying to stop the boats.
At the same time, the Express witnessed dozens of officers, several tactical support vans and two temporary police huts guarding a building site at an empty property suspected to be the future holiday home of Mr Macron, who will leave office in May next year.
Political backlash
Chris Philp MP, Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, said: "French police can apparently spare dozens of officers to guard an empty building, but cannot stop mega dinghies launching a few miles down the same coast. Channel crossings preventions are down by half over the past year and, as we exposed earlier this month, French police are under instruction not to intervene when immigrants are attempting to cross.
"The only way we can stop the crossings is by having a proper deterrent. If people know they can stay in the UK, get put up in a hotel and claim benefits then they will keep risking these dangerous journeys.
"That's why the Conservative BORDERS plan leaves the ECHR, bans asylum claims from illegal entrants and deports illegal immigrants rapidly on arrival. And that's why we will stop non-citizens claiming benefits, and why we will restrict Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and citizenship. This is how we will control our borders and end illegal immigration."
The Express have approached the French Ministry of the Interior for comment.
Property details revealed
According to French newspaper Le Figaro, a building permit has been issued for the extension and renovation of the property, which overlooks a car park just yards from the beach on Boulevard du docteur Jules Pouget. The new owners of the building are a firm called SCI Bremselati, a company registered at an address owned by the French First Lady in Le Touquet.
On the French version of the Companies House website, SCI Bremselati is attached to a number of names with interest in the business, including Mr Macron and his wife. The couple are known to be fans of holidaying in the town and the region, which has become popular with holidaymakers escaping the blistering heatwaves plaguing the south of the country in recent years.
Speaking about the sight of all the president's policemen and women guarding an empty house, John O'Connell, chief executive at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "Taxpayers will be outraged if French officers are guarding elite beachside boltholes while small boats launch nearby.
"Ministers have handed France hundreds of millions to stop Channel crossings, yet gangs still appear able to launch mega dinghies from its beaches.
"The government must demand results for every penny, not let taxpayers bankroll another failing border deal, and finally stop the boats."
