French police clashed with migrants on Saturday morning as they attempted to launch a small boat near Calais – hours before at least 700 more people arrived on UK shores the same day.
Members of the gendarmerie (French police in small towns) fired tear gas in the violent encounter which took place north of Calais, in the town of Grand-Fort-Philippe.
A group of around 30 migrants pushed a dinghy down the river in the early hours of the morning.
But as they attempted to board the boat, police arrived on the scene and immediately confronted them, firing volleys of tear gas at the migrants, who could be heard in the footage shared by GB News shouting at the police.
It is the second weekend in a row that hundreds of migrants have made the crossing over the English Channel, as on Saturday alone 700 more people arrived.
It follows nearly a month of no small boat activity due to poor weather conditions, but as the winds died down this week, people smugglers pushed hundreds more into small boats.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The number of small boat crossings are shameful and the British people deserve better.
‘This Government is taking action. We have removed almost 50,000 people who were here illegally, and our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.
French police clashed with migrants on Saturday morning as they attempted to launch a dinghy in the small town of Grand-Fort-Philippe
Police fired tear gas at the migrants, who can be heard shouting in the video footage shared by GB News
The number of small boats crossing the Channel may now have smashed the milestone of 40,000 this year
‘The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.’
Last week, on December 13, at least 600 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats, shattering Labour’s claims to be getting a grip on the crisis.
Smugglers exploited the improved weather conditions to launch at least nine inflatable boats from France packed with migrants – the first crossings in 28 days.
Video footage taken in the early hours of the morning showed migrants swimming towards a dinghy as it prepared to leave from a quayside near the port of Dunkirk.
The flotilla was believed to have included a number of so-called ‘mega dinghies’, which are almost 40ft long and can carry more than 100 people.
The huge numbers arriving could mean the number of small boats crossing the Channel has smashed the milestone of 40,000 this year.
Last Friday on December 12, Home Office figures showed there had not been any small boat arrivals since November 14 – the longest uninterrupted run since autumn 2018.
Labour’s Tristan Osborne, MP for Chatham and Aylesford in Kent, wrote on X: ‘A long way to go for sure… But finally we are seeing the heavy work paying off.
‘Under Labour the longest stretch without boat crossings since the surge started [under the Conservatives].’
But within 12 hours of Mr Osborne’s crowing message, reports started to emerge of hundreds of migrants scrambling onto boats from multiple sites along the French coast, apparently unheeded by the police.
The surge prompted an ‘indigo’ alert with four of the five Border Force patrol vessels put to sea: Hurricane, Ranger, Typhoon and Volunteer.
Up until last Saturday, 39,292 migrants have made the illegal crossing so far this year – well ahead of the 36,816 who crossed last year. The annual record stands at 45,755 – recorded at the end of 2022.
