Dramatic footage released by the Home Office shows a group of migrants clashing with French police as officers moved in to stop an inflatable boat being launched towards Britain.
The incident happened on a beach in northern France, where a group wearing lifejackets were seen carrying a dinghy towards the sea before French officers arrived in vehicles and attempted to block the launch.
Video footage shows objects apparently being thrown towards officers as police confronted the group.
French officers responded with incapacitant spray before moving towards the inflatable boat.
One officer was then filmed using a knife to slash the dinghy, preventing it from being used for a Channel crossing.
The footage was released by the Home Office alongside new figures detailing attempts by French authorities to disrupt small boat crossings.
Between 27 April and 2 August, French units prevented 185 attempted small boat crossing events, according to figures supplied by the French authorities.
Those interventions included stopping launches, seizing boats and engines and arresting suspected people smugglers.
Officials estimate the operations prevented more than 4,300 people from attempting the dangerous journey across the Channel during that period.
Despite the interventions, thousands of people have continued to reach the UK by small boat.
Figures released alongside the footage show 15,897 people have arrived in Britain by small boat so far in 2026, although the total was reported to be around 43% lower than at the same point last year.
Smuggling networks have also increasingly been using larger-capacity crossings, with growing numbers of people packed into individual inflatable boats.
Earlier this month, 230 people were reported to have crossed the Channel in a single boat, setting a new record.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the government’s approach, arguing that a stronger deterrent was required to stop crossings.
He said the latest figures showed prevention efforts remained inadequate and claimed people would continue attempting the journey while they believed they would be allowed to remain in Britain.
Separately, figures released by French authorities show that 119 people have been detained under a French immigration detention trial launched on 1 May.
Of those, 40 have been deported, 76 remained in detention and 32 had been released at the time the figures were published.
The latest footage comes amid continued political pressure on both the UK and French governments to disrupt organised people-smuggling networks and prevent small boats leaving the French coastline.
