France to begin intercepting boats taking migrants across the Channel

Migrants run to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel off the beach of Gravelines, northern France on August 12, 2025. SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP

France will soon start stopping at sea boats taking migrants across the Channel for southern England, local officials said on Friday, November 28, a major change in strategy following pressure from the United Kingdom.

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Almost 40,000 people have crossed the Channel aboard small boats since the start of the year, an influx of migrants that has put the UK's center-left Labour government under pressure from the hard right. French security forces have stepped up shore patrols to apprehend migrants on the beach, but Paris has until now been wary of halting the small boats at sea due to the risks to passengers.