Overview

• Officers at Gravelines fired tear gas and pepper spray and waded into waist-deep water for the first time to prevent migrants boarding small boats, but were overwhelmed by large groups.
• More than 15,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far in 2025, a one-third rise on last year and the highest first-six-month total since 2018.
• People-smuggling gangs are deploying ‘taxi boats’ and simultaneous departures to evade patrols, packing average loads of 54 migrants into fragile dinghies.
• The UK has committed an extra £280 million per year for its Border Security Command by 2028-29 and is pressing France to use new coastal interception powers.
• A French maritime review is due to issue guidelines next month on intercepting boats within 300 metres of the coast despite resistance from police unions.