The potential deployment of nets to stop migrant boats attempting to enter the UK by crossing the Channel is generating reactions, particularly from associations

Rumor or reality? According to the newspaper Le Monde and Lighthouse Reports (a collaborative journalism organization), French authorities are preparing to experiment with the use of nets to "neutralize" boats carrying migrants by "blocking the engine propellers."

Amnesty International strongly condemns this practice, calling the use of nets to stop migrant boats attempting to enter the UK by crossing the Channel "reckless" and "dangerous." The Home Office, when contacted, did not confirm this information.

“Using tactics designed to stop high-speed drug smuggling vessels against overloaded and unstable inflatable boats filled with people seeking protection is an inherently reckless and dangerous approach,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

Last February, London and Paris extended their treaty against illegal immigration until 2027, under which the British finance part of the checks carried out on the French side. On this occasion, former French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau argued for a "change of doctrine" allowing French forces to intercept boats already at sea.

"Tactics that could kill"

“People crossing the Channel do so because they have no other safe option. Responding with tactics that could kill them is not border control; it is a violation of fundamental obligations stemming from the human right to life,” said Tom Southerden, Amnesty International’s UK legal director, in a statement. “Instead of fueling a race to the bottom in dangerous interceptions, the UK and France should focus on expanding safe passage and improving asylum procedures,” he continued.

Just last weekend, the British Labour government announced a reform to toughen its asylum and immigration policy, hoping to discourage the irregular arrival of migrants in small boats, a trend it is struggling to stem and which is fueling the rise of the far right. Since January 1st, 39,292 people have arrived in small boats, more than in all of 2024, and almost all of them apply for asylum immediately afterward.