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French police are cutting immigration ships, but they are still determined to arrive in the UK

France Ecault Beach (AP) – The white cliffs of England beckon the white cliffs of England. On a wonderful day, men and women have children in their arms, and the determination in their eyes can see that they think it will be a shoreline of a promised land as they try to secretly cross dangerous transits, abandon items to squeeze on fragile flammable ships, which are prone to swelling and head out of the northern France.

In a recent attempt at crossing, French policemen dived with a knife, wade into the water, cutting the thin rubber of the ship – literally, the hopes and dreams of immigrants are putting people in trouble.

Some men raised their frustrated resistance, trying to position themselves in vain between the ship and the officer's blade. One splashed water at them, the other threw a shoe at them. He shouted, “No! No!” and rang. A woman cried.

But a team of three officers, one holding a pepper tank, rushed on the boat again and again, throwing some of them into surfing as they quickly deflate. The Associated Press obtained a video of a police boat, which was filmed on a beach near the port of Boulogne, France.

More and more people are passing through France's defense

France's northern coast has long been resisting invasions, with Nazi bunkers in World War II and leading revolutionary fortresses. Now France is defending the beaches, growing aggressive, against immigration that goes at record speeds, in another way – to the sea, to the UK

Under pressure from British authorities, the French government is preparing to provide a more liberal hand to the police patrol, filming cutter ships carrying men, women and children twice last week.

The video obtained by AP was taken on Monday. Four days later, on the Écault beach south of Boulogne, the BBC filmed police wading and slashing another boat with a boxed knife, dumping people in the water again.

An AP reporter arrived later, and later calculated that he would tear apart many times and see people who were frustrated, some of whom were still wearing life jackets, climbing up the dunes toward the woods inland. There, the Associated Press spent the night before with family and men, sleeping in a makeshift camp without running water or other basic facilities. The exhausted child cried and smoked by the campfire as the man sang.

The French Interior Department told the Associated Press that there was no order to systematically cut the ship to the police. However, the British government – ​​partly funding French policing efforts – welcomed the so-called “strengthening” of the French approach. Britain also urged France to go further and allow officers to intervene in deeper waters, a change the Paris government is considering. Immigration Rights and Police Union Activists warn that doing so could harm immigrants and officials.

In a slam shot by the BBC on Friday, the Home Office said the ship was in trouble, overloaded and riding low in the water, and immigrants “try to climb the boat from behind, with potentially being caught by propellers.”

“In the water to the knee, the military police intervened to rescue the dangerous people, pull the ship to the shore and neutralize it,” the ministry said.

For immigration, Banban stabbed

By the bonfire, the men stared at the flames and reflected on them. Deniz is an infectious and singing Kurd who wants to cross the channel in time to celebrate his 44th birthday, and his 6-year-old daughter Eden lives in England with her mother, just as nearly everyone interviewed by migrants survived the camp, often demolished his Deniz and did not want to give him all his name.

Deniz, who rejected a short-term visa in the UK, said he had no choice but to sail at sea, but four attempts ended with police sabotage of the ship. He said at one time, about 40 of his men begged to patrol alone, leaving them blind to the eyes and let them Shanghai.

“He said, 'No,' no one will stop him. We can stop him, but we don't want to hurt him or we don't want to argue with him.” “We just let him, and he cut it with a knife.”

He believes that British funds for French policing are turning officials into fanatics.

He said: “I said, 'Because of money, you're not a French soldier, you're not a French policeman. You're a British dog now.”

Cat and mouse between immigrants and police

The coastal battle between police and immigrants will not relax regardless of the hours or the weather. Drones and planes watch the beach and military police parade and walk. On ÉcaultBeach, World War II guns will be used as their surveillance post.

The inland waterways have been sealed with razors and floating obstacles to prevent the so-called “taxis”. They drove towards the offshore pickup point, where they waited for immigration, then wade into the sea and climbed onto the children on the boat, in their arms and shoulders.

On Friday, the Associated Press saw a pickup truck at 6 a.m. on Hardelot Beach south of Boulogne. Dozens of people were crowded on the boat, crossing the sausage-like swelling sides – one foot in the sea and the other on the boat. It left about six people on the beach, some in the water, apparently because there was no more space. The military police on the beach slowly looked at its motor.

Campaigners working with immigration fear that allowing police to further intervene in vessels on shore would panic and risk casualties. French officials are studying the possibility of police intervention up to 300 meters (980 feet) from the water's edge.

“All the thing is people take more and more risks,” said Diane Leon, who coordinated the aid efforts of the Médecins du Monde group along the coast. “The police went into the water – this is until now, we only saw very rare. But for us, it caused fear of panic on board or to reach ships that were getting farther and farther away, forcing people to swim into taxis.”

In an interview with the Associated Press, police union officials showed their first concerns about the possible legal consequences of police officers if they try to stop people drowning while leaving offshore. He said officers with equipment suppression could also be flooded.

“Our colleagues don't want to cross 300 meters to intercept the boat. Because in fact, we're not trained for it,” the Union's UNSA Police Department debuted.

“You also need equipment that is appropriate. You can't get arrested in combat boots, police uniforms and bulletproof vests. So, the whole process needs to be rethinked.”

Immigrants say off-road is cruel, but worth the risk

Around the bonfire, people laughed at the risk of transit that French authorities took away nearly 80 people last year. They said there was nothing they had to lose, and the channel was just another tough after a tortuous journey to France that was full of difficulties and pain.

“We will never give up,” Denniz said.

According to the UK government, more than 20,000 people traveled through the first six months of the year, up about 50% from the same period in 2024 and potentially heading towards a new annual record. In 2024, there were approximately 37,000 people traveling, the second highest in the year of 46,000 in 2022.

He is a 26-year-old Palestinian, Qassim, greeted the Associated Press last week after crossing his 6- and 4-year-old daughters with his wife and their daughter.

“Everyone is praying,” he wrote. “We are patient and endure death. The children are crying and screaming.”

“Now we feel comfortable, safe and stable. We are starting a new page,” he wrote. “We will do our best to protect our children and ourselves and make up for the tough times we have been through.”

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to the report in London.

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Follow the global migration scope of AP

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