French police are facing a human rights investigation after footage emerged appearing to show officers using a knife to slash a migrant dinghy to prevent it from crossing the English Channel to Britain. The video, circulating on social media, shows officers cutting a rubber dinghy that had become beached on sand near Calais on Sunday. The vessel rapidly deflated, forcing more than 20 migrants back to shore.
No injuries were reported, with water levels below knee height at the time. Migrant charity Utopia 56 condemned the act as unlawful, arguing the boat was technically at sea and lives were put at risk. Under French law, police are prohibited from intervening once a vessel is in the water to safeguard those on board.
Utopia 56 has lodged a report with France's Defender of Rights, the national human rights watchdog, and filed a formal complaint with the IGGN National Gendarmerie Inspectorate. The charity stated on Instagram that the practice is extremely dangerous and has been used regularly for several years.
A spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais gendarmerie defended the intervention as "entirely within the law," stating the vessel had run aground and suffered a flotation failure. Officers neutralised the boat to prevent it from returning to sea and further endangering lives.
Britain and France recently signed a £660 million agreement to intercept more vessels before launch. The cumulative number of Channel crossings since 2018 stands at approximately 200,000, with 92 people arriving on Monday.
