French police will use large nets to stop small boats crossing the English Channel – despite warnings that such tactics could lead to deaths.
France has been under mounting pressure from the UK to intercept migrant vessels at sea amid growing public anger over illegal migration, as Labour ramps up its efforts to deter people from making the crossings in a fresh crackdown.
Emmanuel Macron’s government announced in July that it would change its maritime laws to allow for interceptions, but the plans have been delayed amid concerns that it could put lives at risk.
However, it has now emerged that several French law enforcement officers have been equipped with so-called “arresting nets” up to 30m wide since the spring. A source familiar with the matter said they can be used in the “fight against illegal immigration”, as well as for tackling drug trafficking.
Two sources from the French Ministry of the Interior told investigative newsroom Lighthouse and French newspaper Le Monde that nets will be used to carry out interceptions of small boats. One explained that five or six teams would patrol the coastline to intercept the boats, each with a maritime gendarmerie vessel to undertake the manoeuvres, and a French Navy vessel in case assistance is needed.
A training manual from a company that supplied these nets, seen by Lighthouse Reports and Le Monde, states they allow one or more boats to be “neutralised simultaneously” by blocking their propellers.
The manual says the crew can disrupt the course of a “non-compliant vessel” so it changes course or stops, or use the nets to “compel it to comply with instructions”.
Another commercial document for the same company states that the nets can be “used to capture and immobilise high-speed vessels”, with the intercepting boat passing the “target” before dropping the net once it is 10-20 metres ahead.
But Rémi Vandeplanque, a French coastguard and representative of the French customs union Solidaires Douanes, warned that employing such tactics to stop people in small boats trying to reach the UK will lead to deaths and that there is “no way” to carry out such manoeuvres safely.
“There are usually at least 50 people on board, sometimes more. Whatever you do, you will create panic or distress, and one day there will be a disaster. The first time, maybe it will be okay, once or twice. But it’s clear that one day there will be fatalities caused by this,” he said.
“You can imagine the panic on board. If you pass in front of a dinghy, you will make waves. It is not possible to do this really safely. It will be dangerous regardless. They can say whatever they want, but there is no way to do it safely.”
The majority of deaths of passengers of small boats in the Channel now occur near the coast, most of them either from drowning or asphyxiation on overcrowded boats. Twenty-six people have died during crossing attempts so far in 2025, according to French data.
The Brits are putting pressure on everyone, from the most junior project manager to the minister himself
On 30 September, a letter from the Solidaires Douanes union to the French customs general director, Florian Colas, condemned France’s plans to intercept small boats at sea as “inhumane” and “absurd”. The letter warned that such tactics “risk causing shipwrecks and deaths, for which the moral and criminal responsibility would rest entirely on the personnel in charge of carrying out the interventions”.
French gendarmerie, who will be carrying out the interceptions, are said to be concerned about the risk of casualties and fear officers could face criminal prosecutions as a result of deaths.
“The police want guarantees. The prosecutors’ offices would have to make the grounds for prosecution very limited,” according to a source at the Ministry of the Interior.
“Impossible,” retorted another source. “No magistrate will agree to give the police carte blanche.”
During a meeting on 10 November of French authorities involved in policing the sea, attendees agreed a criteria that must be met for interceptions at sea to be carried out.
“The necessity to stop the boat must be demonstrated before intervening: showing that the boat is not suitable, that it is not a pleasure craft or a fishing boat, that the trajectory shows that it is trying to pick up people on the beach. This will not prevent prosecution if the action results in deaths, of course,” said a source from the Ministry of the Interior.
It comes as France faces mounting pressure from the UK to introduce tougher measures to prevent small boats from leaving its shores. The new funding cycle for securing the Franco-British border is set to conclude in March, and the release of British funds to France is said to be contingent on Paris giving assurances of a tougher maritime security presence.
A French government source said: “The Brits are putting pressure on everyone, from the most junior project manager to the minister himself.”
So-called “taxi boats” are likely to be the first targets of the new strategy, according to sources. These are vessels that travel along the coastline and pick up migrants at various locations, who then wade several meters into the water, in a bid to avoid having the boats intercepted on the beaches by law enforcement.
The taxi boats phenomenon is on the rise, with more than 56 per cent of people who arrived in the UK in 2025 being transported on such vessels, according to data from the French authorities.
The latest measures come amid mounting pressure on the UK government to slash the number of people arriving in the UK by crossing the Channel, with almost 40,000 people making the perilous journey so far in 2025.
On Monday, home secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled a raft of hardline measures aimed at discouraging asylum seekers and making it easier to remove those who have no right to remain in the country amid growing public discord over the issue – but she is now battling growing backlash from her own MPs, some of whom believe the latest proposals go too far.
There has also been growing cooperation between Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron to clamp down on migration, with the two leaders holding a joint press conference over the summer, where they announced plans for a “one in, one out” returns agreement, which sees some asylum seekers sent back to France after crossing the Channel.
It came after Mr Macron admitted the problem of illegal migration was a “burden” for both the UK and France.
