Overview
- Supplier materials reviewed by media describe 30‑metre arresting nets that foul propellers, with interceptors overtaking targets and dropping the net 10–20 metres ahead to force a stop or course change.
- Reports say maritime gendarmerie units have been equipped since spring, with five to six patrol teams planned along the coast and French Navy support available if required.
- France signaled in July that it would revise maritime rules to permit at‑sea interceptions, and operational teams are now being prepared for testing.
- The Solidaires Douanes union formally condemned the plan on 30 September as inhumane, warning of shipwreck risks and potential criminal liability for personnel, and a coastguard representative said there is no safe way to carry it out.
- The push comes as more than 39,000 people have reached England by small boat this year and 26 deaths have been recorded, with UK funding talks for Channel security reportedly tied to tougher French enforcement.