Overview
- The video, filmed Sunday at Oye-Plage near Calais, shows an officer cutting an inflatable with about 25 people in shallow water, and no injuries were reported as passengers stepped back to shore.
- Utopia 56 filed complaints to France’s Defender of Rights and the gendarmerie watchdog IGGN, prompting an official review of the officers’ conduct.
- The Pas-de-Calais gendarmerie says the dinghy had run aground and was deflated to prevent a risky crossing, while the charity argues the boat was already afloat with people on board.
- The intervention tracks a new UK–France £660 million three-year deal that funds larger beach patrols and nearshore stops, with French practice generally avoiding at-sea interceptions once boats carry about 20 or more people.
- Local authorities the same day found two female migrants dead on a beach near Neufchâtel-Hardelot after an overloaded boat ran aground following an engine fire, underscoring the lethal risk of these crossings.