French police have used pepper spray and knives to stop a group of migrants launching an inflatable boat across the English Channel, with dramatic drone footage capturing the confrontation on a beach in northern France.
Video released by the UK Border Security Command shows dozens of people wearing life jackets attempting to push the inflatable vessel towards the sea as officers move in to prevent its departure. According to ITV, some members of the group threw stones at police, who responded with pepper spray before puncturing and slashing the boat to render it unusable.
British officials say about 15,900 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, a 43 percent reduction compared with the same period in 2025.
The UK Home Office also announced on Thursday that more than 80,000 criminals and immigration offenders had been removed from the country since July 2024. It said removals were now running at their highest level since 2016.
Illegal migration and small-boat crossings remain politically contentious issues in Britain, particularly amid heightened public concern over immigration, crime and pressure on public services.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office last month, has pledged a tougher approach to Channel crossings after 752 migrants arrived in Britain aboard nine boats on July 29 — the largest single-day total recorded this year.
Days earlier, approximately 150 migrants reportedly crossed from Berck in northern France aboard a single vessel, setting a record for the number of people detected on one Channel boat.
Migration pressures have also intensified elsewhere in Europe. Authorities have faced major challenges at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African coast, prompting renewed debate among European governments over border enforcement and the operation of the continent’s free-movement arrangements.
French cops zoom onto beach to STOP illegals from setting off to UK by boat pic.twitter.com/GgxVgu5FOL
— RTVisual (@RT_Visual_on_X) August 20, 2026
