Call THAT a crackdown? French police watch as group of 40 migrants launch dinghies bound for the UK just a day after vowing to step up patro
French police have been pictured standing by and doing nothing as a group of up to 40 migrants launched dinghies into the Channel this morning in a fresh attempt to reach Britain.
The migrants, including at least five children, were spotted going into the water from a beach near Wimereux, just a few miles north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the early hours of the morning.
Yards away was a French police car with at least two cops inside who appeared to do nothing, despite Emmanuel Macron's government yesterday vowing that forces would be in action 'night and day' to stop the crossings.
The vow came after the French government was challenged to explain how exactly £9million handed over by Britain this summer as part of a £54million package had been spent - even as crossings soared to record levels.
And speaking to MailOnline today, a senior Tory aide accused the French of 'playing to the gallery' by allowing the crossings to go ahead while warning that 'serious action' is unlikely before April, when elections will take place.
Speaking about the situation, Tory MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke told MailOnline the French are ‘playing us for fools’.
‘It’s infuriating to see pictures of the French authorities seemingly standing by and just watching while migrants pile into small boats and launch themselves into the water,’ she said. ‘The French said they would take action, but you have to wonder if they are just playing us for fools.’
A group of 40 migrants ran with an inflatable dinghy across a beach near Wimereux, northern France, while police stood ny and did nothing
The migrants, including at least five children, were spotted going into the water from a beach just a few miles north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the early hours of the morning
Yards away was a French police car with at least two cops inside who appeared to do nothing, despite Emmanuel Macron's government yesterday vowing that forces would be in action
More than 4,000 migrants have made the journey in November so-far, the most ever in a single month, and the surge shows no sign of slowing down
The vow came after the French government was challenged to explain how exactly £9million handed over by Britain this summer as part of a £54million package had been spent, as crossings soared
Fellow Kent MP Craig Mackinlay told MailOnline: ‘Promises by the French authorities to do all they can to prevent beach launchings are beyond wearing thin.
‘The French have refused on-site help from UK Border Force and troops, they refuse to implement their own EU obligations under the Dublin Accords, they refuse to manage the pull factor of the Pas de Calais region.
‘Their agenda, in advance of their Presidential elections, is now obvious - to destabilise British politics and are now straying into breaches of international border agreements.
‘Whilst we could obviously do more domestically to speed up deportations, the true blame for this crisis must be directed to wilful failures across the channel.’
It comes against the backdrop of worsening relations between the UK and France over post-Brexit fishing licences in the Channel, and the AUKUS submarine pact with saw Australia tear up a billion-dollar French contract in favour of signing a new deal with Britain and America.
Amid the worsening relations, almost 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year - far eclipsing the roughly 8,000 who came in 2020 and 1,000 who arrived in 2019.
More than 4,000 have made the journey in November so-far, the most ever in a single month, and the surge shows no sign of slowing down.
French officials revealed details for the first time of how they have spent £9million from the British taxpayer, agreed as part of a £54million deal in the summer.
A spokesman for the interior ministry said: 'More than 100 mobile vehicles are being delivered on the ground for patrols and arrests, with equipment adapted to the specific nature of the terrain.'
Specialist kit would include quad bikes, 4x4s, rigid-hulled boats and 'vehicles equipped with sophisticated monitoring and detection equipment'. The spokesman said: 'Twenty vehicles have already been delivered and are being used by the forces on a daily basis. The others will arrive in December and over the course of 2022.'
But the French did not announce any extra personnel.
During the last major Channel surge – which saw the 'Jungle' camp spring up near Calais in 2015 – France sent in 3,500 officers from its mobile police unit, the CRS. Just a couple of hundred reservist gendarmes are currently deployed.
UK officials believe the shortfall has left the French struggling to deal with the massive numbers pushed through by organised crime gangs.
The group of migrants boarded the dinghy and gestured as they started to make the journey across the Channel to Britain today
Almost 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year - far eclipsing the roughly 8,000 who came in 2020 and 1,000 who arrived in 2019
Among the group travelling in the dinghy from France were very young children wearing life jackets as they made the arduous journey
Last week Home Secretary Priti Patel blamed the EU's free movement policy for allowing thousands of migrants to sweep across the Continent to France
France has rejected British proposals to allow UK officers to work on the other side of the Channel to detect people-smuggling operations
Yesterday France said British cash will also be spent on 'high-performance night-vision equipment' and thermal cameras.
'Specially adapted clothing', searchlights, interception and communication equipment and torches have also been bought.
Reminiscent of the defensive line built in the 1930s to deter a German invasion, named after France's minister of war Andre Maginot, the equipment will be used to 'secure the coastal strip stretching for more than 130km [100 miles], from the Dunkirk area to the Bay of the Somme'.
The spokesman added: 'As part of the fight against illegal immigration along the Channel coast, and in order to safeguard the lives of people often in distress, the ministry of the interior is deploying its security forces day and night to monitor the coastline, prevent makeshift boats from leaving for Britain, and arrest people smugglers.'
A British government source said: 'We are pleased that the French are now doing this work to help reduce these despicable crossings.'
Last week Home Secretary Priti Patel blamed the EU's free movement policy for allowing thousands of migrants to sweep across the Continent to France and urged a cross-Europe attempt to tackle the problem.
However, France has rejected British proposals to allow UK officers to work on the other side of the Channel to detect people-smuggling operations.
Six out of ten migrants arrive in France only on the day they attempt to cross – arriving from Belgium and the Netherlands.
People smugglers are charging more than £3,300 per head to make a Channel crossing, according to latest intelligence.
The new arrivals bring the total number to have made it to the UK this month to 4,019, exceeding the previous record of 3,879 in September. This year's total is now a record-breaking 23,761
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