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File photo used as illustration: British members of a far- right activist group have periodically set up patrols along the beaches and dunes of northern France in search ofmigrants, to try and deter them from crossing the English Channel, like this person at the end of September 2026 | Photo: Anadolu Agency / picture alliance
File photo used as illustration: British members of a far- right activist group have periodically set up patrols along the beaches and dunes of northern France in search ofmigrants, to try and deter them from crossing the English Channel, like this person at the end of September 2026 | Photo: Anadolu Agency / picture alliance

France expels more British anti-migrant vigilantes in Calais

Latest update : 2026/11/03
By Sou-Jie van Brunnersum Latest update : 2026/11/03

Five British men, detained in France over allegations of harassing migrants, have been expelled and barred from entering the region for six months. The five Britons, described as members of an "ultra-right movement," were arrested near the northern Channel port of Dunkirk.

Five British men arrested in France on suspicion of harassing migrants were fined, expelled from the country and prohibited from entering the region for six months on Sunday (November 1), according to French authorities. 

The five British nationals, who have been described as members of an "ultra-right movement", were detained on Thursday (October 29) while live streaming footage online near the northern Channel port of Dunkirk, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing updates from the local prefecture. 

The five men, aged between 30 and 46, were reportedly found in possession of tear gas and pepper spray canisters, along with a stick and a baton, all of which are prohibited under French law. A judge imposed a six-month ban preventing them from entering the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments and ordered each man to pay 500 euros to a victims' support association.

According to the broadcaster Sky News, the men had been traveling on a bus around the region, which they had nicknamed "the battle bus".

A humanitarian organization claimed the group committed acts of violence against undocumented migrants, but prosecutor Charlotte Huet announced in a statement on Sunday that investigators did not find enough to establish violent offenses, AFP reported. 

Nevertheless, "all five were expelled from French territory on Sunday," an official from the Hauts-de-France and Nord regional prefecture told AFP.

File photo used as illustration: Here three members of a self described vigilante group attempt to deter migrants from boarding boats in northern France | Photo: Anadolu Agency / picture alliance
File photo used as illustration: Here three members of a self described vigilante group attempt to deter migrants from boarding boats in northern France | Photo: Anadolu Agency / picture alliance

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It’s not the first time British nationals have been deported from France for taking part in anti-migrant vigilante-type actions.  In January, two British nationals suspected of traveling to France to participate in a banned anti-migrant demonstration in the Channel port of Calais were arrested and deported.

File photo used as illustration: These men are just some of the far-right activists and self-described vigilantes who have attempted to set up patrols along the beaches of northern France | Photo: Anadolu Agency / picture alliance
File photo used as illustration: These men are just some of the far-right activists and self-described vigilantes who have attempted to set up patrols along the beaches of northern France | Photo: Anadolu Agency / picture alliance

Additionally, ten other British far-right activists were banned from entering French territory in mid-January following allegations of violence against migrants along the French coast in previous months, French news Radio France International (RFI) reported.

"The state does not tolerate such actions conducive to hatred and violence from anyone," the prefecture posted on the social media platform X.

On Saturday, the UK government announced that approximately 1,000 migrants made the crossing across the Channel to the UK in just two days due to calmer weather conditions. They arrived after a break of nearly three weeks with no crossings, due to stormy weather. 

With AFP