French police have admitted that the force is "too dysfunctional to stop small boats" despite Britain's cash funding.
Marc Alegre, who represents officers in Calais and Dunkirk, described efforts by police as disjointed and admitted that British money was being spent on the wrong type of equipment.
The force said it was pushing for the French Government to set up a dedicated police unit to specialise in tackling immigration and taking on the people smugglers.
It comes as 1,097 migrants crossed the Channel on Saturday in 17 boats, coinciding with the new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's first full day in office.
It takes the total number of illegal Channel arrivals so far this year to more than 30,000.
Unprecedented violence by migrants has resulted in French officers' lives being put at risk, according to Mr Alegre.
He added that people smugglers were encouraging migrants to attack officers with petrol and smoke bombs, stones and burning life jackets and to vandalise police vehicles.
The ongoing crisis has resulted in French resources running low, with stocks of tear gas, grenades and vehicles hard to find.
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French police have admitted that the force is 'too dysfunctional to stop small boats' despite Britain's cash funding
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The Unité police union boss said: "Police are pelted with stones practically every night. We’re short of cars because they’re vandalised by migrants, who the smugglers and traffickers order to throw stones at us to slow us down."
“I have colleagues who are regularly injured, who go to hospital because they’re doing this job. We use grenades and tear gas to stop the migrants, but they throw stones, smoke bombs and burning life jackets at us. All our vehicles are damaged. We’re practically out of ammunition. It’s not easy every day, every single day."
"Last year, two night-shift officers were surrounded by migrants and almost got burned to death. The migrants had set fire to the place with bottles of petrol. They were dog handlers. Two against 60. They risked their lives to prevent a boat from reaching England. Is it worth dying burned alive to let a boat pass? Would you?"
He added that significant “coordination” problems between different forces policing the Channel remained too "compartmentalised", with police lacking any specific "training" on how to handle the migrant crisis.
The total number of illegal Channel arrivals so far this year just broke 30,000
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Mr Alegre suggested the creation of special units that would work all year round, covering the entire northern French border.
He added: "It’s currently too compartmentalised, meaning that if, for example, gendarmes between Calais and Dunkirk are attacked by migrants and find themselves surrounded, which has already happened, the gendarmes will call the police or vice versa. It would be quicker if there was direct communication."
The official also highlighted the lack of training within the forces, noting that officers from Lyon or Paris are drafted in without ever working on a beach.
He said: "At the police academy, where people can choose their police station in France, they know that if they go to Calais or Dunkirk, they’ll work twice as hard as in other places."
It comes as 1,097 migrants crossed the Channel on Saturday in 17 boats
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Mr Alegre added: "We have to motivate them because they have to do the normal work of the police, but on top of that, they have to guard the borders. That’s twice as much work for them, with more risks and more work, but for nothing extra."
"Regarding the resources bought with British funds, often we don’t ask the police officers who are on the ground for the equipment they really need."
"For example, we got some 4x4 vehicles that can go on the beach.
"That’s good, but my colleagues would have preferred pick-up trucks because when we discover a boat, we have to put it somewhere, and it doesn’t fit in the boot of a seven-seater. But a boat with an engine can be put in the back of a pick-up truck and driven away."
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK must take a tougher line on immigration
| GETTYSpeaking with GB News on the immigration crisis facing Britain, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I'm afraid we do have to take a tougher line on this.
"We have seen a whole range of approaches taken by our predecessors that simply haven't worked, haven't been effective enough, and it's led to people losing confidence in the immigration system.
"When I say losing confidence, of course, we've had the high-profile issue of the boats. But also people need to have confidence that the legal system, the visa system, is also working, as well.
"Shabana Mahmood is hard as nails and whether it is tackling disorder and lawlessness on our streets or tackling the insecurity of our borders, you can expect a tough and effective approach from this Home Secretary."