French police clashed with migrants on a northern France beach on August 21 as migrants attempted to leave for the UK in a small boat. Officers used Pava spray and slashed a dinghy to prevent the crossing, with footage of the confrontation published [1, 2].
Since April 27, French authorities have prevented 185 small boat crossing events to the UK, blocking over 4,300 migrant crossing attempts. These operations are part of a new UK-France deal aimed at strengthening border enforcement in northern France [1, 3]. The deal includes deploying 50 riot squad personnel to prevent small boat departures [1].
The measures have resulted in a 61% rate of preventing small boat crossing events in the first three months, a nearly 5% improvement from the same period in 2025. So far in 2026, 15,897 migrants have successfully crossed the Channel, down 43% compared to 2025 and down 16-18% compared to 2024 [1, 3].
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, "Our new UK-France deal is already having a real impact, stopping crossings before they happen and disrupting the criminal gangs behind them" [3].
However, charities have expressed concern about the tactics used. Utopia 56 said, "We can see police pressure on the beach is putting more people at risk. We saw it last week and we are seeing it now and we have seen it for some time. It is terrible" [1]. The charity also highlighted the use of CS gas and police pressure on asylum seekers.
Reform UK proposed using the Royal Navy to intercept migrants and return them to France or Belgium, but France rejected this, calling it a violation of sovereignty and international law [1].
The UK-France deal began operations April 27 to boost enforcement against migrant crossings by small boats. The first three-month period ended August 2 with 185 crossing events prevented and more than 4,300 migrant attempts stopped [3].
The clashes on August 21 are the latest in efforts to enforce the agreement and reduce migrant Channel crossings. Authorities continue to implement the heightened patrols and interdiction operations on northern French beaches [1, 3].
