French police will deploy large nets in an attempt to stop small boats crossing the English Channel, despite warnings the tactic could lead to deaths.
The country has been under mounting pressure from the UK to halt migrant vessels from making the journey in the midst of growing public anger over illegal migration.
It comes as Labour is ramping up its efforts to stop people from making the crossings.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s Government announced in July that it would make changes to its maritime laws to allow for interceptions.
However, there have been delays to the plans due to it putting lives at risk.
It has now been revealed that several French law enforcement officers have been given so-called “arresting nets” which are up to 30 metres wide since spring.
According to the Independent, a source familiar with the matter said the nets can be used to “fight against illegal immigration” as well as for battling drug trafficking.
Two sources from the French Ministry of the Interior told Lighthouse and French newspaper Le Monde that nets will be used to carry out interceptions.
Nets are being deployed by French police to stop small boat crossings
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GETTYOne source explained five or six teams would patrol the coastline – each equipped with a maritime gendarmerie vessel to intercept the boats.
A French navy vessel would be ready if needed.
A training manual from the company which supplied the nets, Lighthouse Reports and Le Monde has seen, indicated it allows one or more boats to be “neutralised simultaneously” by blocking their propellers.
The manual further states the crew can disrupt the course of a “non-compliant vessel” to change its course or stop.
The nets can also be used to “compel it to comply with instructions”.
A further commercial document from the same company indicates the nets can be “used to capture and immobilise high-speed vessels” even with the intercepting boat passing the “target” before dropping the net once it is 10 to 20 metres in front.
French coastguard and representative of the French customs union Solidaires Douanes, Remi Vandeplanque, said using tactics like this to stop people in small boats could lead to deaths.
He added that there was no way to do this safely.
“There are usually at least 50 people on board, sometimes more,” he said.
“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.”
A lot of the deaths of small boats take place near the coast, mostly either from drowning or asphyxiation on overcrowded boats.
French data indicates 26 people have died during crossing attempts in 2025.
A letter from the Solidaires Douanes union to the French customs general director, Florian Colas, in September, condemned France’s plans to intercept small boats at sea, saying they are “inhumane” and “absurd”.
The letter further warned tactics risked causing shipwrecks and deaths.