Overview
- Alliance, France’s largest police union, says officers will not carry out risky at‑sea stops, citing capsizing dangers and the lack of protection from prosecution.
- Prosecutors have refused to waive criminal liability despite weeks of talks, creating a standoff that halts tougher tactics before they begin.
- The UK–France plan envisioned ordering dinghies to stop and immobilising them, including jamming propellers to divert boats back to France, but these measures are now paused.
- The French navy has declined sea interventions over safety concerns, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez is wary of the risks as earlier shallow‑water plans appear shelved after October’s government change.
- French rules still limit action to shores or very shallow waters—short of Britain’s request for interceptions up to 300 metres—while crossings remain high, reported at more than 37,000 this year and 41,455 by 21 December, with UK officials expressing frustration and early one‑in‑one‑out returns numbering only in the dozens.