France is backing away from a recent commitment to intervene more forcefully at sea to stop small boats from crossing the English Channel, according to multiple sources contacted by the BBC.
There is evidence that France's current political turmoil is partly to blame, but it will come as a blow to the UK government's attempts to tackle the issue.
In the meantime, dangerously overcrowded inflatable boats continue to leave the coast on an almost daily basis, from a shallow tidal canal near the port of Dunkirk.
While the man in charge of border security in the UK, Martin Hewitt, has already expressed frustration at French delays, the BBC has now heard from a number of sources in France that promises of a new maritime doctrine - which would see patrol boats attempt to intercept inflatable boats and pull them back to shore – are hollow.
It's just a political stunt. It's much blah-blah, said one figure closely linked to French maritime security.
The maritime prefecture for the Channel told the BBC that the new doctrine on taxi-boats was still being studied.
Former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was widely credited, not least in the UK, with driving a more aggressive approach in the Channel. That culminated last July with a summit between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The focus then was on plans to intercept the so-called taxi boats now used by the smugglers to cruise close to the coastline, collecting passengers already standing in the water.
French police rarely intervene against the overcrowded taxi-boats since it's considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians. But days before the summit, we witnessed French police wading into the sea south of Boulogne to slash the sides of a taxi-boat as it got caught in the waves and drifted close to shore.
In London, the prime minister's spokesman reacted immediately to our footage, calling it a really significant moment and proof that the French were already starting to take tougher action to stop the small boats on shore and, potentially, at sea.
However, since then, Retailleau has lost his job as minister in the latest of several chaotic reshuffles, and a distracted French government appears to be focused on other crises.
Despite the political upheaval, the flow of migrant boats continues unabated, prompting calls for more robust intervention. Residents near the canals report multiple boats leaving daily, further complicating the already precarious situation in the waters between France and the UK.
Legal and humanitarian concerns also contribute to the hesitation surrounding maritime interventions, as officials fear that aggressive actions could lead to a rise in fatalities among migrants and legal ramifications for those involved in enforcement.
There is evidence that France's current political turmoil is partly to blame, but it will come as a blow to the UK government's attempts to tackle the issue.
In the meantime, dangerously overcrowded inflatable boats continue to leave the coast on an almost daily basis, from a shallow tidal canal near the port of Dunkirk.
While the man in charge of border security in the UK, Martin Hewitt, has already expressed frustration at French delays, the BBC has now heard from a number of sources in France that promises of a new maritime doctrine - which would see patrol boats attempt to intercept inflatable boats and pull them back to shore – are hollow.
It's just a political stunt. It's much blah-blah, said one figure closely linked to French maritime security.
The maritime prefecture for the Channel told the BBC that the new doctrine on taxi-boats was still being studied.
Former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was widely credited, not least in the UK, with driving a more aggressive approach in the Channel. That culminated last July with a summit between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The focus then was on plans to intercept the so-called taxi boats now used by the smugglers to cruise close to the coastline, collecting passengers already standing in the water.
French police rarely intervene against the overcrowded taxi-boats since it's considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians. But days before the summit, we witnessed French police wading into the sea south of Boulogne to slash the sides of a taxi-boat as it got caught in the waves and drifted close to shore.
In London, the prime minister's spokesman reacted immediately to our footage, calling it a really significant moment and proof that the French were already starting to take tougher action to stop the small boats on shore and, potentially, at sea.
However, since then, Retailleau has lost his job as minister in the latest of several chaotic reshuffles, and a distracted French government appears to be focused on other crises.
Despite the political upheaval, the flow of migrant boats continues unabated, prompting calls for more robust intervention. Residents near the canals report multiple boats leaving daily, further complicating the already precarious situation in the waters between France and the UK.
Legal and humanitarian concerns also contribute to the hesitation surrounding maritime interventions, as officials fear that aggressive actions could lead to a rise in fatalities among migrants and legal ramifications for those involved in enforcement.
