France set to lift ban on police stopping migrant boats at sea

27 February 2025 3:34pm GMT The French government is set to lift a ban on stopping migrant boats at sea for the first time in an effort to reduce illegal Channel crossings. Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, said on Thursday that he was seeking a law change to allow migrants to be tackled out of boats in shallow water. The rule change will also allow police to use their own boats for the first time to take on people-smugglers carrying migrants to the UK on overloaded vessels. French law prohibits police from tackling a migrant boat once it has entered the water, leaving officers only able to launch a rescue operation. People-smuggling gangs have begun using “taxi boats”, which remain in the water and collect migrants from beaches in Northern France. The tactic allows smugglers to evade capture, forcing police to conduct rescue operations rather than arresting the perpetrators.