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Plans by French police to enter the sea to stop small boats carrying UK-bound asylum seekers willcause more deaths and will be challenged in the European courts, a French charity has said.
Arthur Dos Santos, the coordinator of the refugee charity Utopia 56, said there would be an increase in the number of people who would take “desperate” measures to reach the UK.
The official, based in Calais, said the charity was examining the possibility of a legal challenge in the European courts to stop the tactics.
Government sources have told the Guardian that French police would be authorised to tackle boats within 300 metres of the shore and in nearby waterways.
The strategy aims to be ready in time for the Franco-British summit, which begins on 8 July. This coincides with the state visit to London of Emmanuel Macron, the French president.
Over the past few days, French police have waded into the sea to stop asylum seekers from boarding boats, increasing speculation that police are already using the tactic.
In one incident this week at Gravelines beach near Dunkirk, officers were shown waist deep in water, using CS gas, riot shields and batons, as they attempted to force a boat to return to the beach.
Dos Santos said the French plan to harden its tactics against asylum-seekers and smugglers would result in more deaths.
“When police enter the sea, it will cause more deaths, more people will drown as they try to get away before being caught and forced back to the beach. There will be more violence, as some people fight back, and the people attempting to reach England will find other ways to try to get to the UK. This will not stop them, but it will make the crossings much more dangerous,” he said.
The scheme is intended to give the French authorities the power to halt dinghies that “taxi” up to beaches from nearby waterways. Until now, guidelines prevent French police from intervening offshore unless it is to rescue passengers in distress. In practice, the policy means officers can stop boats leaving the beach by puncturing them, but are restricted once they are in the water.
Dos Santos said the tactic would face legal challenges in the European courts, with lawyers examining human rights laws and the UN convention on the law of the sea.
“This policy will be taken to the European courts. We will look very closely at this, as will other organisations,” he said.
A British charity that operates in France told the Guardian two weeks ago it planed to explore possible legal challenges to stop the tactic.
Steve Smith, the chief executive of Care4Calais, said: “When the last Tory government tried to do pushbacks in the Channel, Care4Calais initiated a legal challenge and won. Any attempt to introduce interceptions in French waters must face the same level of resistance.”
In 2024, 73 people died trying to cross the Channel in small boats, more than in the previous six years combined. Nine people this year have so far been reported dead or missing in the Channel.
Nearly 17,000 people have crossed in small boats so far in 2025, according to Home Office figures, higher than at the same point in 2022, the overall record year for crossings. On Wednesday, Downing Street acknowledged that the situation in the Channel was “deteriorating”.
The French police union Unity has expressed concern that officers could face legal action if people die during an intervention.
