French police slash migrant inflatable in new tactic to tackle small boat crossings

French police have used new tactics to stop small boats setting off to cross the Channel, slashing a boat while it was in shallow waters.

The boat was packed with men, women and children when police entered the waters and deflated it.

The move is highly unusual, with police usually bound by rules which forbid them from approaching the boat when it is already in the water.

Small boat crossings have reached record highs this year, with nearly 20,000 people having made the journey in 2025 so far.

Downing Street described the intervention as a “significant moment”.

“We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach,” a spokesperson said.

“We are seeing new tactics being used to disrupt these boats before they begin their journey and, together with every other lever that the Government is pulling, we think this can have a major impact on shutting down the tactics these gangs use.”

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the approach was a “different strategy” and welcomed the decision to “take action in the shallow waters”.

“This is something that will take time to implement, but is on its way going through the French system at the moment, she told the BBC.

“I want to see this happen as urgently as possible, and I think the French interior minister does as well.”

Care4Calais, a charity supporting asylum seekers in northern France, described the incident as “shameful” and warned the tactic would “put lives at risk, including the lives of children.”

Crossings at record high levels

So far this year, 19,982 people have arrived by small boat – an increase of 48 per cent on last year. Officials say that 879 migrants arrived in the UK on Monday alone after crossing the English Channel, the third highest number of arrivals on a single day so far in 2025.

Should they continue at this level, this year will beat 2022’s record for crossings.

Border security insiders have attributed the rise to the weather; crossings tend to rise when the weather is good, because stiller, warmer waters improve the chance of making it across the Channel.

2025 has been disproportionately warm, with two heatwaves already sweeping the UK and a “unprecedented season of warmth” this spring, according to the Met Office.

But people smuggling groups which operate the Channel crossings are also constantly changing their tactics to escape detection and maximise profits.

To avoid getting caught while inflating the boat around the heavily-policed launch spots, smugglers have begun operating so-called “taxi boats”, launching further along the coast and then picking up migrants on the route.

The smugglers are also starting the journey to the UK further along the French coast in a bid to avoid intensive policing around Calais, aid workers said, lengthening the journey to the UK and increasing the risk that small boats will collapse mid-journey.

A rise in the number of crossings may reflect the fact that more conflicts are currently raging than at any time since the Second World War.

Last year, 99 per cent of those crossing sought asylum, meaning they request refuge in the UK on the grounds of persecution or threat in their own country.

To claim asylum in the UK, a person must be physically in the UK. There is no visa to travel to the UK to make an asylum claim.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.