Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged French authorities to intervene before asylum seekers board vessels heading for the UK, as part of a new plan to halt small boat crossings in the Channel. The French government is set to approve interventions targeting empty 'taxi boats' before they pick up passengers from beaches, according to reports.
Le Monde has seen a letter from Starmer to French President Emmanuel Macron, stating there is 'no effective deterrent' in the Channel and calling for the tactics to be deployed this month. The plan is part of a 'one in, one out' deal announced in July, under which one person would be allowed to travel legally to the UK to claim asylum in exchange for another who arrived irregularly being returned to France.
French security forces will target large dinghies at sea, within 300 metres of the coast, before they pick up passengers. However, an NGO working with refugees, Care4Calais, has warned it could launch a legal challenge, arguing the tactic could force desperate people to take more dangerous journeys. Its chief executive, Steve Smith, said: 'This is a dangerous moment, that will cost more lives.'
French police interventions near beaches were halted in early August following objections from the police union. The French political crisis has also delayed the plans. A spokesperson for France's maritime prefecture said officers would soon begin 'control and intervention operations' at sea, moving in before passengers board to avoid endangering lives. It remains unclear whether French unions will support the proposed tactic.
So far this year, 39,292 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats. Twenty-six people have died during crossing attempts in 2025, according to French data. The majority of deaths now occur near the coast, from drowning or asphyxiation on overcrowded boats.
