Plans to force French border control to intercept migrants on the beaches before they board boats to cross the Channel have been rejected by unions in France, as they claim it would be too dangerous to tackle overcrowded dinghies.
The security of the Channel border has been under intense scrutiny since GB News exclusively revealed that nearly 1,200 people had made the dangerous crossing, with thousands more migrants expected to make the journey.
An unclosed loophole means that French police cannot stop boats once they are already in the water, leading to smugglers launching dinghies from inland canals and acting as taxis to pick up migrants who wade into the sea.
Current guidelines mean officers can stop boats leaving the beach by puncturing them, but can do nothing once they are in the water unless the passengers call for help.
President Emmanuel Macron is drafting a new strategy to present to the UK during his upcoming State visit to Britain in July
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With limited powers to stop the migrants, law enforcement officials have been pictured watching on from the shore.
More good weather is expected to lead to further crossings from early next week.
UK officials have been in touch with their counterparts across the Channel to raise concerns about the level of policing.
France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wants to change the law so officers can intervene up to 300m from the coastline, but progress has been slow.
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Photos of French officials watching migrants begin their journey across the English Channel have emergedPAHe said: “We have to review our organisation so that we can board these boats… arriving to pick up migrants.”
Unions in France are opposed to the plan amid safety fears.
President Emmanuel Macron is drafting a new strategy to present to the UK during his upcoming State visit to Britain in July.
The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, told MPs on Monday that the record-breaking day of crossings was “disgraceful and unacceptable”.
An inflatable dinghy carrying migrants is escorted by a French Warship across the English Channel towards British Waters GettyThe French authorities, seen watching the boats from the shore, prevented 184 migrants from making the journey that day, despite agreeing in February to amend laws to allow police to intercept small boats in shallow waters.
A senior source at Alliance — the largest police union in the country — said: “People don’t seem to realise how dangerous it is to try to carry out arrests at sea, while trying to force a boat to change course.
“If there are 80 people on an overcrowded boat, including women and children, then it is extremely dangerous to try to stop them.
“The potential for disaster, including further deaths, is immense. Turning us into sea police is not the way forward.”
French officials removed around 24 migrants for safety reasons but allowed approximately 80 others to continue their journeyGETTYA source at the maritime branch of the General Confederation of Labour, which represents seamen across France, told The Sun: “If a potentially vulnerable boat is stable then it should not be interfered with until it reaches a safe place on the shore.
"Such boats should only be interfered with at sea if they are in serious trouble.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Belgium has been very successfully intercepting returning boats at sea and has almost entirely stopped embarkations.
"Trade unions and the Left have no interest in stopping illegal immigration.”
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