Overview

• Dozens of migrants, including a family with two children, ran into shallow water at Gravelines on July 17 to board an overcrowded dinghy bound for the UK.
• French coastguard personnel in an inflatable boat passed out lifejackets and bottles of water rather than turning the vessel back to shore.
• No police were seen on the beach during the boarding, highlighting strains on local enforcement amid record small-boat crossings.
• More than 22,500 migrants have reached the UK via Channel crossings so far this year, marking a multi-year high that is testing Anglo-French patrol resources.
• The UK and France are set to begin an August pilot of their one-in, one-out scheme, returning irregular arrivals in exchange for equal legal admissions.