As French officers observed, numerous migrants hastily boarded a dinghy bound for Dover, merely a week after a similar Channel crossing tragically resulted in the drowning of two men.
This morning, nearly 50 asylum seekers, including families with small children, gathered on Dunkirk beach around 9 a.m., just as disorder erupted under the watchful eyes of armed police.
The crowd, primarily consisting of men from African and Middle Eastern nations, traversed the expansive sandy shore, anticipating the arrival of a makeshift vessel to ferry them across the Channel to England.
Turbulence ensued as soon as the inflatable dinghy reached the shore, with migrants dashing through the surf in a frantic bid to secure a place aboard.
Others leaped into the water, attempting to board, with some desperately clutching onto those already on the vessel, which heightened the risk of capsizing.
Dozens of migrants scrambled on to a dinghy heading to Dover as French police stood and watched just a week after two men drowned during a similar Channel crossing
Nearly 50 asylum seekers, including families with young children, descended on Dunkirk beach at around 9am today moments before chaos unfolded in the presence of armed officers.
The group, made up of mostly men from Africa and the Middle East, walked along the long-stretch of sand and headed to the shoreline waiting for a taxi-boat to cross the Channel to England
A photograph captures a line of police officers standing by on the beach, observing as the migrants wade into the sea.
But in another image, migrants were being spoken to by authorities after they failed to board the small boat.
It comes a week after the UK agreed a temporary two-month deal to pay France millions more to police the Channel while the two countries thrash out a longer-term agreement.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed off a £16.2million cheque to extend the current deal with Paris, which subsidises French beach patrols, at the last minute on March 31.
But the agreement has not put off the smugglers who continue to take advantage of the improved weather in northern France.
A total of 137 migrants arrived on two small boats on Tuesday (April 7) after 325 asylum seekers made the dangerous crossing on five dinghies last week.
Two migrants died after attempting to cross the Channel in an overcrowded boat on April 1.
Chaos erupted as soon as the rubber dinghy arrived with migrants racing through the water towards it as they fought for a spot.
Others plunged into the water as they tried to jump on with some desperately clinging to those already on board, leaving them at risk of being submerged
A family of five wading into the water to board the dinghy heading to Dover
The Daily Mail was on the beach in Gravelines to witness French authorities standing around and filming on their phones as 55 migrants rushed on to an already packed dinghy.
French police later confirmed that a man from Sudan and another from Afghanistan had died after the boat got into trouble off the coast.
A court later heard that authorities refused to intercept the small boat because it was ‘too full’.
Meanwhile it emerged that British officials are travelling to France on failed missions to try and persuade single male migrants that the UK is no longer an ‘Eldorado’ of cash hand-outs and free homes.
The extraordinary development was outlined by managers of a refugee reception centre at Croisilles, near Arras, close to the English Channel coast.
Around 14,000 men have stayed in it over the past decade as they prepare to use people smuggler-organised small boats to reach Britain.
Claude Picarda, who assists in the running of the centre, said UK government representatives have ‘been coming once a month since October’ to try and dissuade migrants from making the illegal and hugely dangerous journey.
But – despite their efforts – more than 90 per cent continue on their journey to England.
Dangerous crossings in the Channel have increased over the past three years, with 41,472 people arriving in the UK in 2025.
So far this year, more than 4,903 migrants have arrived in Britain on small boats.
Last year, the French stopped around 35 per cent of people smuggler small boats – carrying around 22,500 migrants – from getting across the English Channel.
Under a three-year agreement initially signed in 2023, Britain has paid £476million to France for extra patrols to catch migrant smuggling gangs.
The current round of negotiations to sign a new £650million deal were deadlocked because France rejected the payment-by-results plan.
