French police units assigned to patrolling beaches where migrants attempt to cross the English Channel are "dysfunctional" and officers lack adequate training and equipment, a senior union representative said, despite hundreds of millions of pounds in UK security aid to France.
Marc Alegre, secretary-general of the Unité police union which represents officers in Calais and Dunkirk, told the Telegraph that many officers sent to the coast come from urban or other postings and are unprepared for the specific tasks of beach patrols. He said British funds had sometimes been spent on the wrong types of vehicles and that forces operating on the coast lacked coordination.
"No one has been trained in France. It's all on-the-job experience," Alegre said. "When you come from Lyon or Paris and you come to work on the beach, it's not the same job. When you work in a housing project, it's not the same way of working as on the beach." He called for the creation of specialised police units dedicated to beach operations, covering the coastline from the Belgian border to Boulogne, and involving both the police and the gendarmerie on a year‑round basis.
Alegre described practical equipment shortcomings and operational hazards. He said some UK-funded purchases, including seven-seat 4x4s intended to reach beaches, were less useful than pick-up trucks because inflatable boats and engines cannot fit in the former. He also said patrol vehicles were frequently vandalised, that officers were pelted with stones "practically every night," and that colleagues had been seriously injured and required hospital treatment. "We're practically out of ammunition," he added.
The union leader said different police forces involved in beach patrols remained too "compartmentalised" and lacked effective coordination, increasing risk for officers and hampering the response to smugglers and traffickers.
The criticism comes against a background of significant UK spending on Franco‑British cooperation to limit Channel crossings. A House of Commons Library report in July said the UK had given £658 million to France since 2018; it added that a further £114 million had been provided in the previous four years for security measures such as at Calais port and for addressing migrant camps, bringing the total to more than £770 million over 12 years.
The report and subsequent media coverage have highlighted how some of the UK funds were spent. In 2023 it emerged that parts of the money had been used to buy equipment for French police operating on the French‑Italian border rather than for the Channel coast. Purchases funded by the UK have included helicopters, vehicles, motorbikes, e‑scooters, quad bikes, surveillance equipment such as binoculars, drones and dashcams, and other items ranging from charging devices and microwaves to equipment for a horse brigade in the Somme Bay.
Footage and reporting have also shown confrontations on the coast; French police have been filmed slashing inflatable dinghies and using pepper spray as migrants attempted to cross the Channel. Alegre said those confrontations expose officers to "extreme violence from migrants and traffickers," and that the current arrangements do not give them the training or resources needed to manage such situations safely.
The Unité union said it was pressing the French government to establish specialist, permanently staffed units to work the coast and to consult officers on the ground about the equipment they require. The call echoes broader concerns about how bilateral funding and operational arrangements have been managed.
The French interior ministry and the UK government did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Alegre's remarks and the union's proposals.