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Channel Crossings Top 23,000 as France Hands Out Lifejackets and Gears Up Returns Pilot

Footage of the French coastguard handing out lifejackets highlights the humanitarian dilemma facing authorities ahead of the one-in-one-out returns pilot.

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Migrants being moved from the woods behind Hardelot beach, just north of Le Touquet. The Times came across them as they were being escorted by gendarmes towards Boulogne
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Overview

  • More than 23,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel by small boat so far in 2025, surpassing previous records for this point in the year.
  • French coastguard images show officers distributing lifejackets and water to overcrowded dinghies departing Gravelines beach, raising questions about enforcement priorities.
  • French riot police engaged in clashes with migrants and suspected smugglers in gravel-strewn confrontations, deploying tear gas after being pelted with petrol bombs.
  • The UK and France are set to launch a one-in-one-out pilot scheme imminently, aiming to return up to 800 Channel arrivals to France by year’s end in exchange for 800 legal UK arrivals.
  • Investigations and smuggler footage reveal a transnational supply chain that assembles boats in Turkey, transports them through Germany and stores them in warehouses before Channel crossings.