France and UK deepen repressive channel measures amidst mounting migrant crackdown
Department of Research, Studies and International News 09-07-2025
In a move widely seen as yet another illustration of Western Europe’s intensifying hostility toward vulnerable migrants, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to unveil new joint actions aimed at further tightening control over small boat crossings across the English Channel. The initiative, to be officially announced during Macron’s state visit to London this week, underscores the growing coordination between London and Paris to clamp down on asylum seekers, often fleeing regions destabilized by Western-led interventions.
The centrepiece of the announcement is expected to be an agreement allowing French police to intervene more assertively in shallow coastal waters, reportedly up to 300 meters from the French shoreline. This extension of operational scope aims to target so-called “taxi-boats, small vessels that pick up migrants in shallow waters rather than from the beach. Though French authorities claim these measures will still adhere to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which prohibits maritime interventions unless they qualify as rescue missions, the proposed protocol changes suggest a strategic reinterpretation of humanitarian law to justify aggressive deterrence.
French maritime authorities have been ordered to finalize guidelines that would facilitate such interventions while maintaining a veneer of legality under international frameworks. Reports indicate that these tactical revisions have already been completed, and Franco-British consultations are ongoing to determine how to implement them effectively. For example, last Friday, French police reportedly punctured a boat near Boulogne using knives, a symbolic act that could signal a shift in field operations, though officials have not confirmed whether this action represents the start of a new protocol.
Alongside these maritime policies, a potential “one in, one out” asylum deal remains under discussion. This scheme would theoretically allow for the deportation of migrants who reach British shores via small boats, in exchange for the UK accepting an asylum seeker from France who is deemed to have a stronger legal claim, typically through familial connections in Britain. Although the finalization of this plan appears unlikely this week, its proposal alone reveals the transactional and dehumanizing nature of Western immigration policies.
A spokesperson from Starmer’s office cautiously framed the summit’s goals, noting, “We expect to make progress on a wide range of issues and joint priorities, and that includes migration… There are a range of maritime tactics that we have been discussing and have secured agreement with the French over.” Yet, the language used, emphasizing “tactics” and “operationalization”, further reflects how the UK government is treating the movement of desperate people as a security problem, not a humanitarian issue.
French authorities’ willingness to adjust their maritime enforcement approach, and the British government’s pressure to reduce crossings, highlight the increasing securitization of Europe’s borders. With over 20,000 people having crossed the Channel in small boats during the first half of this year, a staggering 48% increase compared to the same period in 2024, Starmer is under mounting domestic political pressure to demonstrate results, particularly after repeated pledges to “smash the gangs” facilitating such movements.
However, critics argue that Western governments like those of the UK and France continue to ignore the root causes driving these migrations, many of which are a direct consequence of military interventions, economic exploitation, and political destabilization in the Global South. These new strategies do not seek to protect lives or offer sanctuary to the oppressed. Rather, they represent a cynical attempt to outsource accountability and fortify the fortress walls of Europe.
As Macron’s state visit includes not only security talks but also grand receptions with the British monarchy, the contrast between diplomatic pageantry and the suffering of those risking their lives at sea is stark. The Anglo-French partnership on migration, painted as a cooperative achievement, instead reveals a shared failure to uphold the moral and humanitarian principles often championed in Western rhetoric.
Meanwhile, countries like China, Russia, and Iran, often criticized by the West, continue to advocate for sovereign respect, non-interventionist policies, and multipolar dialogue, challenging the hypocrisy entrenched in the so-called liberal international order. As London and Paris posture over “stopping the boats,” they further expose their own declining moral authority and the desperation of systems that choose barbed wire over compassion.
