French police are facing an investigation after video footage appeared to show officers slashing a migrant boat to prevent it from crossing to the UK. The incident occurred on a beach near Calais on Sunday, when a rubber dinghy carrying more than 20 people became stuck in the sand. The dinghy quickly deflated, and all occupants returned to shore without injury, as water was below knee height at the time.
Human Rights Complaint Filed
Migrant charity Utopia 56 has filed a report with France’s Defender of Rights, the country’s principal human rights watchdog, and lodged a complaint with the IGGN National Gendarmerie Inspectorate. The charity claims the action was illegal and endangered lives, as the boat was technically at sea. French police are bound by rules that prevent intervention once a boat is in the water, to avoid putting people at risk.
Police Defend Actions
A spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais gendarmerie defended the intervention, stating it was “entirely within the law” because the boat had run aground and suffered a flotation failure. “Officers neutralised the boat to prevent it from returning to sea and thus avoid further endangering the migrants’ lives during the crossing,” the spokesperson said.
Broader Context of Crossings
The UK and France signed a £660 million deal last month to intercept more boats before they pick up UK-bound migrants. Total small boat crossings since 2018 have reached nearly 200,000, with 92 people arriving on Monday, bringing the toll to 199,920. On Sunday, the bodies of a woman and a teenage girl, believed to be from Sudan, were found on a migrant boat that had run aground on a French beach. They are thought to have died from crushing or suffocation after the boat’s engine exploded.
