Faced with the militarization of the northern coast of France, an increasing number of migrants are leaving the French coast for the United Kingdom from Seine-Maritime, some 200 kilometers from Calais. The French coastal region has recorded 56 attempted crossings since the beginning of 2026.
These attempts are becoming increasingly dangerous. State services issued a warning on September 18, during a press briefing, regarding the increase in attempted clandestine crossings of the English Channel from the Seine-Maritime department.
"The pressure has increased" on the department, where there has been a "significant" rise in departures since 2024 in the Dieppe area (82 percent of attempts), but this trend is now shifting southward towards Le Havre, according to the Prefect of Seine-Maritime and Normandy, Jean-Benoît Albertini.
As of September 15, the Seine-Maritime prefecture had recorded 56 attempted departures since the beginning of the year, compared to only 31 for the entire year of 2025.
The number of smugglers arrested and convicted has also increased, from four in 2024 to eight this year.
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New practices
Border police have also observed new practices among smugglers, with increasingly large "mega boats," citing the example of an 18-meter rigid inflatable boat that carried 230 passengers this year.
On the night of September 5, an overcrowded boat carrying migrants was spotted off the coast of Jobourg, at the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula (Manche), nearly 500 kilometers from Calais. After a crossing of more than 150 kilometers, the boat arrived in Portsmouth, in southern England.
Migrants from Sudan, Syria, Kurdistan, or Iraq are most often transported from the Hauts-de-France region to Normandy, by taxi or train, by smugglers, before traveling up the French coast by boat to the Pas-de-Calais region to cross the English Channel at its narrowest point.
State officials have confirmed that additional resources will be allocated to the fight against cross-Channel immigration. The number of gendarmerie reservists patrolling the coastline will increase from 16 to 50, and the number of police officers from 11 to 19.
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Additional resources
Éric Delain, commander of the regional gendarmerie and the Seine-Maritime departmental group, specified that these additional resources will be financed by the UK's "Sandhurst Fund," named after a 2018 agreement on British financial contributions to French border policing missions.
Since the beginning of January, at least 17 people have died in the English Channel attempting to reach England, according to a count by InfoMigrants. These sea crossings carry deadly risks of drowning, stampede, and suffocation, often linked to the overcrowding of migrants on board the boats and the pressure exerted by smugglers.
In early September, the French Maritime Prefecture (Prémar) also announced the deployment of European vessels under a Frontex mandate to support search and rescue operations in the English Channel. The ships deployed by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency will not participate in maritime interception operations.
Specifically, Frontex will send two Spanish vessels (the "Duque de Ahumada" and then the "Rio Segura") from September to October, followed by a Lithuanian vessel until January 2027, to join French patrols.
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