France prevents 185 boats and 4,300 migrants reaching UK shores

French units funded by the UK as part of the landmark new UK-France deal have hit the ground running in their first 3 months. 

According to information from the French authorities, officers prevented 185 small boat events between 27 April and 2 August. 

This included action to stop launches, seize equipment including boats, engines and lifejackets, and arrest smugglers. 

This means 61% of all small boat events were stopped across this time, an increase in the event prevention rate of nearly 5% compared to the same time period in 2025. 

French reporting also indicates that in the 3 months since signing the deal, there have been 4 weeks that saw the French intercept every potential crossing event, a prevention rate of 100%. 

Action taken also directly prevented over 4,300crossing attempts, stopping migrants from reaching UK shores with potentially hundreds more crossing attempts stopped before they could even reach French beaches. 

French officers deployed a range of tactics and interventions across May, June and July to crack down on the evil smuggling gangs and disrupt migrant crossings. 

This included making direct interceptions on beaches, stopping boats setting off from the shore and preventing migrants from boarding taxi boats. 

In May, French units prevented a potential small boat launch from south of Calais. Theyidentified3 groups of people totalling nearly 100 migrants, alongside a boat hidden in vegetation, 4 cans of petrol and an engine, and neutralised the crossing.

In the same month, French police dispersed a large group of migrants and apprehended a suspected people smuggler 3 kilometres away from the French coast.

During another event in July, officers spotted a large group of migrants heading towards Dunkirk. Deploying surveillance technology, officers monitored the group and then swooped in to neutralise the boat being carried, stopping another crossing in its tracks. 

Officers also took action to seize boats and engines from vehicles travelling towards the coast alongside concealed equipment hiding along the shoreline. 

In May, specialist French security officers intercepted a vehicle and discovered a boat with an engine, 3 fuel jerry cans and a fuel tank inside. A suspected people smuggler was arrested, and a crossing attempt was prevented.

In June, officers arrested 2 suspected traffickers for transporting nautical equipment in a vehicle. Inside, they found a boat and 3 jerry cans of fuel.

In July, the Gendarmerie drone detected a group of migrants transporting a boat engine. A sweep of the area was conducted, and a boat was detected and seized. 

Officers are also intercepting boats at sea, using new maritime tactics directly targeting migrant taxi boats. 

Since the first deployment of these new tactics on 3 March, French units have intercepted 12 taxi boats on the water, with 3 taking place in just the last 2 weeks. This prevented them moving further up the coast, loading more and more migrants onto an unsafe vessel. 

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. 

People smugglers should be in no doubt,we'retaking down their operations, seizing theirequipmentand breaking their business model for good. 

Through our joint work with France, we have stopped over 47,000 small boat crossing attempts since the election and we will not let up. 

Director of Maritime and Small Boats at Border Security Command, Charlie Eastaugh, said: 

Our partnership with France is stronger than ever. Together, we are piling the pressure on the criminal gangs and preventing these illegal and dangerous crossings. 

French officers are not shy in taking bold action to prevent these launches where it is safe and lawful to do so.They work in difficult and dangerous conditions to stop boats launching, seize equipment and disperse large migrant groups as well as saving thousands of lives at sea.

Our joint efforts are delivering results, and we will go further still to restore control of our borders and put these smugglers out of business. 

But the focus of French officers goes beyond just preventing launches. 

Under a trial launched on 1 May under the new UK-France deal to remove migrants from French beaches, statistics provided by French authorities show that 119 migrants have been detained in total. 

Of this number, 76 remain in detention, 32 have been released and 40 illegal migrants have been deported from France either back to their home countries or other EU countries they have passed through over 33% of the total number of illegal migrants detained so far. 

The trial has been launched while the construction of a permanent Immigration Removal Centre in Dunkirk is ongoing. 

Since the signing of the new deal with France, 2additionalpolice units are now active on French beaches. This includes a new 50 person riot police unit with specialist skills tocontainand disperse groups of illegal migrants on French beaches.

In addition, the French are rolling out millions of pounds worth of drone surveillance, 2 new helicopters and a new camera surveillance system to intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants. 

This month, the Home Secretary announced that a record number of National Crime Agency officers have been deployed to crack down on people smugglers, with the number of dedicated officers doubling since the start of 2025, from 276 to almost 800. These officers are working hand in glove with international partners and have seized over 1,100 small boats or engines since the election. 

The Home Secretary is implementing the most sweeping reforms to our immigration system in modern times, removing the incentives that draw migrants to British soil and scaling up the removal of those with no right to be here. This builds on the over 80,000returned since taking office.