"French authorities rescued more than 6,000 migrants attempting to reach Britain in small boats last year, while 25 people died and two remain missing, the maritime prefecture said Friday in its annual report. France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to cross the Channel and start a better life in Britain, where the centre-left Labour government is under pressure from the anti-immigration hard right to curb arrivals."
"Despite the dangers, attempts to make the perilous journey in flimsy craft have "not slowed down", said France's maritime prefecture for the Channel and the North Sea (PREMAR). Nearly 50,000 people aboard 795 boats attempted to cross the Channel from France to the United Kingdom in 2025, according to the report. French authorities rescued 6,177 people, while 25 died, it said."
"In its report, PREMAR warned that smugglers were exposing migrants to ever greater risks. The number of people per boat continues to increase, the report said, rising from an average of 26 in 2021 to 63 in 2025 -- with 10 boats that year having carried more than 100 people. The authorities have also seen the continued use of so-called "taxi boats", which leave shore discreetly and almost empty before picking up dozens of migrants wading into shallow waters."
The Channel and North Sea maritime prefecture recorded nearly 50,000 people on 795 boats attempting to cross from France to the United Kingdom in 2025. French authorities rescued 6,177 migrants while 25 died and two remain missing; combined French and British tallies put the death toll at at least 29. Smugglers increased risks by packing boats more densely, raising the average occupants per vessel from 26 in 2021 to 63 in 2025, with ten boats carrying over 100 people. So-called "taxi boats" discreetly pick up dozens of migrants wading into shallow water. British authorities logged 41,472 small-boat arrivals in 2025.
Read at The Local France
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