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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor

French officers halted small boats at sea 10 times since spring

A French warship and Navy rib escort a migrant dinghy crowded with people in life jackets across the Channel
A French warship and navy rib alongside an inflatable ‘small boat’ carrying migrants across the Channel after leaving northern France. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The French authorities have halted small boats at sea in the Channel on 10 occasions since the spring, officials said on Friday.

Despite claims from the Conservatives and Reform that the French were refusing to intervene in small boat crossings, maritime prefect officers were using “intervention tactics” to board or control vessels at sea and take asylum seekers back to France.

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