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France has "firmly rejected" the UK's offer to police overcrowded migrant boats in territorial waters as the death toll continues to rise.
09:16, Fri, Apr 10, 2026 Updated: 09:25, Fri, Apr 10, 2026
Six people have died while trying to cross the Channel to England so far this year (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A top French politician has accused Emmanuel Macron's government of "political failure" for its handling of the English Channel migrant crisis. Six people have drowned while making the perilous journey to England so far this year, with a criminal enquiry into the latest disaster, off a beach near Boulogne-sur-Mer, opened by prosecutors on Friday. French police were accused of standing by as two unidentified men and two women were swept out to sea by the currents at around 7:30am on Thursday.
It came after President Macron's government in Paris firmly rejected proposals for the British to intercept overcrowded migrant boats in French waters. Natacha Bouchart, who has been Mayor of Calais for 18 years, described the deaths as "yet another devastating event" and demanded the government deliver more resources and a "clear strategy" for avoiding future "tragedies".
Emmanuel Macron has been criticised for his 'failures' in handling the migrant crisis (Image: Getty)
"Each time, the same story unfolds - men, women, sometimes children, delivered into the hands of unscrupulous smugglers, forced onto makeshift boats, risking their lives," she said.
"But each time, too, the same political failure."
Ms Bouchart said she and other coastal mayors continually "sounded the alarm" over the crisis, but were ignored by Laurent Nuñez, France’s Interior Minister - the equivalent of the Home Secretary.
"The silence is a mistake," she added. "We have repeatedly contacted the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez. He has never responded.
"Let me be clear - the inaction of [Mr Nuñez] now makes him responsible."
Mr Nuñez, a former Prefect of the Paris Police, did not immediately respond to Ms Bouchart's scathing criticism.
Meanwhile, Cécile Gressier, the public prosecutor in Boulogne, confirmed that police "did not intervene" to try to prevent the deaths on Thursday.
Instead, they looked on as the so-called "taxi boat" they were trying to reach continued on its journey to Britain with around 30 people onboard. Taxi boats are vessels launched by smugglers on inland waterways such as canals, before picking migrants up on beaches around Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk.
Officers oppose intervening at sea due to the dangers involved.
Two other migrants - an Afghan man and one from Sudan - died in exactly the same circumstances just over a week ago, on April 1, at Gravelines, near Dunkirk.
Commenting on the latest deaths, Ms Gressier said: "An investigation has been opened to identify the perpetrators, the smuggling networks involved, and to bring these individuals to justice."
Six migrants have now died on the cross-Channel route this year, adding to the 29 who lost their lives in 2025. French figures show that nearly 50,000 people attempted the crossing from France in 795 boats last year.
It came as a plan to allow British boats to intercept migrants at sea and return them to France was firmly rejected by President Macron's government.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wanted to deploy her department's Border Force fleet in a "more active role" in the English Channel so as to bring down the number of asylum seekers reaching the UK.
Ms Mahmood suggested the Border Force interception option as part of negotiations to renew a multi-million-pound migrant patrol deal during an impasse in talks between London and Paris.
It would have seen up to 11 British vessels, including six 42-metre Border Force cutters, bolstering French patrols at sea. The British would have intercepted small boats before they reached UK waters, picked up the migrants onboard and taken them back to northern France.
But a government source in Paris said: "The idea was firmly rejected because British government officials are not meant to operate in French territorial waters."
France and Britain have agreed a temporary two-month extension to the current deal that pays for French police to patrol beaches for migrants after negotiations failed to agree on new terms.
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The UK will pay the French £16.5 million to cover the cost of nearly 700 police officers patrolling northern France until May, the equivalent of £275,000 per day or £2 million per week.
The extension was officially designed to prevent a surge in migrant crossings during the current spell of good weather.
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