French authorities rescued more than 6,000 migrants attempting to reach Britain in small boats last year, while 25 people died and two remain missing, the maritime prefecture said Friday in its annual report. France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to cross the Channel and start a better life in Britain, where the centre-left Labour government is under pressure from the anti-immigration hard right to curb arrivals.
More than 41,000 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats in 2025 - almost 5,000 more than the previous year. Home Office figures, with just the number for New Year's Eve to be added later, showed the total number of migrants crossing the Channel in the past year was 41,472, marking a 13% rise on the 36,566 for the previous 12 months. The annual total was the highest since 2022, when nearly 46,000 crossed.
December is traditionally one of the quietest months for Channel crossings, as a combination of low temperatures and stormy weather makes the journey particularly difficult. Poor visibility and less daylight have also been cited as factors influencing the crossings. The most arrivals recorded in December was 3,254 in 2024; 2,163 people have arrived so far this month. The arrivals on Saturday bring the total number of people who have crossed the Channel this year to 41,455.
An NGO working with refugees has told the Guardian it could launch a legal challenge because the tactic could force desperate people to take more dangerous journeys. In July, there was a flurry of French police interventions near French beaches to stop the boats with footage recorded by the BBC of a boat being punctured in shallow water while carrying asylum seekers. But the interventions were halted in early August following objections from the French police officers' union.
The UK sanctioned Balkans-based gangs and financiers who it said facilitated small boat crossings across the English Channel. The UK Foreign Office said the sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, targeted criminal gangs involved in "illegal migration to the UK." The sanctions came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted European leaders at a Western Balkans summit to discuss migration and economy.
I was over, and met with him in Paris three weeks ago to really press the point about how significant delivering this maritime tactic is for us because of the taxi boat scenario. This was referred to by President Macron at the summit in July when he spoke with the [British] prime minister. So it is frustrating that it's taken the time that it has.
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A family of three including a small child have become the first arrivals from France under Keir Starmer's one in, one out deal, the Home Office said on Wednesday. The move follows the removal of the first four asylum seekers from the UK to France over the past six days, despite ongoing legal challenges. Under the deal, signed in July by Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, the French president,
The MP for Birmingham Ladywood has won admirers for being an effective justice secretary and persuasive communicator while forcing through potentially explosive policies such as prisoners' early release schemes and a new sentencing regime. But her ability to tackle her new responsibilities which include immigration, national security and policing will be seen as key to curbing the growing electoral threat of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.
"You can be pro immigration and against illegal routes," Rylan wrote in a statement posted to Instagram and X, after viewers slammed his comments against illegal immigrants, which claimed they were given luxuries like iPads. "You can support trans people and have the utmost respect for women. You can be heterosexual and still support gay rights. "The list continues. Stop with this putting everyone in a box exercise and maybe have conversations instead of shouting on twitter [sic, now X]."
"they will be picked up by the border force or our volunteers at the RNLI when the border force can't cope". "And now what happens is the French give them all life jackets and when they're picked up by the border force, the border force give the life jackets back to the French so they can re-use them on the next journey," Farage added.
Yesterday, under the terms of this ground-breaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France.
