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.
However, Retailleau has since lost his position, and a distracted French government appears to be focused on other crises.
Current rules allow French police and firefighters to intervene in shallow water only to rescue individuals in imminent danger. French police rarely undertake interventions against overcrowded taxi-boats, citing the potential risk to officers and civilians.
While UK authorities have suggested measures to give French police more latitude to intervene, such plans face skepticism from French officials concerned about legal repercussions and escalating deaths at sea.
As migrant boats continue to launch from various points along the French coast, local residents express concern that the existing measures are grossly ineffective. Video evidence shows police boats able to observe illegal crossings without taking decisive action.
This dynamic not only raises questions regarding France's commitment to border security but also complicates the ongoing negotiations between the UK and France regarding maritime cooperation to curtail migrant crossings, as failure to act efficiently could exacerbate the already pressing humanitarian crisis.
