Fresh footage released via Reuters Connect on 21 September shows around 30 migrants launching an inflatable dinghy from Berck-sur-Mer, south of Calais, in the early dawn hours. The launch underscores the cat-and-mouse dynamic on France’s northern beaches despite a three-year, £662 million Franco-British enforcement package that funds extra gendarmes, drones and sand-dune barriers. Local officials say smugglers have shifted operations further south from the traditional Calais hotspots to beaches with fewer natural choke-points. The Berck launch came just hours after UK Immigration Minister Shabana Mahmood testified about the cost of the “one in, one out” returns scheme, fuelling debate over whether current tactics provide value for money. For corporate mobility managers the incident matters because every successful crossing tightens political pressure to impose ad-hoc border measures. During similar spikes in 2025, France temporarily restricted access roads to the Eurotunnel freight terminal, causing delivery delays for just-in-time supply chains. Kent’s Operation Brock contraflow system, which parks lorries on the M20 when border capacity is reduced, could again be activated if UK processing sites saturate. Logistics associations are urging companies to diversify routing – for instance via Zeebrugge or Caen ferry services – and to monitor French prefectural notices that can close beach roads with little warning. Meanwhile, humanitarian NGOs warn that autumn sea conditions amplify drowning risks, increasing the likelihood of large-scale search-and-rescue operations that divert maritime-police resources.
Source: Reuters Connect (video)
