Ebenezer
TheEbenezer News

Europe

French police accused of rising useof violence to stop Channel crossings

NGO criticises ‘human cost’ of UK-funded crackdown on attempts to set off from French beaches in small boats

Read full story on The Guardian
Diane Taylor24 Aug 2026, 01:00 pmUpdated 2d ago1 min readEuropeUnited Kingdom
French police accused of rising use of violence to stop Channel crossings

United KingdomDiane Taylor

NGO criticises ‘human cost’ of UK-funded crackdown on attempts to set off from French beaches in small boats

People trying to cross the Channel to the UK have reported an increase in French police use of violence on beaches to prevent them from getting into dinghies, according to a French NGO.

Utopia 56, which works on beaches from where migrants attempt Channel crossings, says so far this year 2,720 people have reported being victims of French police violence, compared with 1,954 over the same period last year, when crossings overall were much higher.

People trying to cross the Channel to the UK have reported an increase in French police use of violence on beaches to prevent them from getting into dinghies, according to a French NGO.

This report is published with credit to The Guardian. The wire sent a summary; open the original for any extra context. Read on The Guardian

Source: The Guardian · Diane Taylor. Published 24 Aug 2026, 01:00 pm.

Keep reading

Back to the desk