In northern France, dozens of migrants are camping out near Dunkirk, waiting months to cross the English Channel by boat, as efforts to deter crossings have reduced the number of boats making the trip. According to recent data, 14,200 asylum seekers had crossed the Channel by the end of July, down from 25,436 in the same period last year. The increased security measures, including additional police funding and surveillance equipment, have made it harder for migrants to cross, but also more perilous as they take longer and riskier routes. Aid workers describe Calais as a "permanent border zone" where migrants are being pushed between forests, dunes, train stations, and beaches as they wait for an opportunity to attempt the crossing.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In northern France, beaches turn to border zones as migrants wait months to cross the English Channel
Efforts to deter crossings mean fewer boats make the dangerous trip, resulting in greater risks for migrants
At dusk, as the solar eclipse cast a greyish tint over northern France last week, dozens of people packed a bus stop on the side of a highway, many of them carrying bright orange life jackets.
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many → turn → jackets
Members of the group, which included women and some toddlers, said they'd been camping out in the nearby woods for months, waiting for a break in the wind and waves so they could try to board a boat to cross the English Channel.
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they → include → Channel
These days, they say, it's not easy to do.
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it → say → ?
Several migrants CBC News spoke with said police had prevented them from crossing and in some cases, sprayed them with tear gas.
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police → speak → gas
For decades, the 40-kilometre stretch of coast between Dunkirk and Calais has been a waystation for migrants travelling through Europe, their numbers waxing and waning as conflicts, migration routes, weather and European policies change.
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conflicts → travel → Europe
But recently, despite a decrease in overall crossings, the boats have been carrying more and more migrants while taking longer and increasingly dangerous routes across the Channel.
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boats → carry → Channel
These developments come at a time of heightened debate about European migration, especially after tens of thousands of migrants rushed the Spain-Morocco border in the North African Spanish territory of Ceuta in late July.
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thousands → come → July
U.K. politicians quickly turned their attention to migrants attempting to cross the Channel.
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politicians → turn → Channel
Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, called for the Royal Navy to tow them back to France, though former Navy officers said that wasn't feasible.
- Analysis
80 people died trying to get to Ceuta.
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people → call → Ceuta
In Europe, politics could eclipse the tragedy
Who's behind viral online posts fuelling a crisis over migration in Europe?
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Who → eclipse → Europe
On Aug. 2, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Dover, where many asylum seekers land in the U.K.
He stopped short of making any policy announcements, but promised to be "relentless" in curbing the number of boats, while also citing the need for safer routes to reduce migrant-smuggling gangs.
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He → visit → gangs
Fewer crossings mean bigger risks
Last year, the U.K. announced it would increase its funding for French police operations to £662 million ($1.2 billion Cdn), which would also include deploying additional drones, helicopters and cameras to prevent people from crossing.
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which → mean → people
Aid workers say the result is that Calais has become a kind of permanent border zone with police cracking down on departures and clearing informal settlements, chasing migrants between forests, dunes, train stations and beaches as they wait for any opportunity to cross.
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they → say → opportunity
By the end of July, about 14,200 asylum seekers had crossed the Channel, fewer migrants than the same time period in 2025 when 25,436 crossed.
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25,436 → cross → 2025
Volunteers with NGOs and citizen groups like Calais Appeal, an umbrella organization overseeing six groups providing support for migrants in Calais and Dunkirk, say efforts to deter migrants from crossing don't result in fewer people attempting the journey.
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people → oversee → journey
- Video
Title: U.K. pledges nearly $200M Cdn to deter illegal migrants from crossing the English Channel
‘Obviously cruel policies’: U.K.’s proposed asylum rules draw pushback from critics
"People just find alternatives, taking more dangerous routes, longer routes; we have boats that are overly crowded," said Salomé Brun, speaking to CBC News on a recent visit to the old warehouse where Calais Appeal operates.
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Appeal → pledge → warehouse
Though the dinghies migrants use are typically referred to as "small boats," it's a moniker that no longer fits as they increase in size.
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they → use → size
Last Monday, a record 230 people made it to the U.K. in one "mega-dinghy," as some in the British media called it.
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some → make → it
The week before, 173 asylum seekers were rescued by French authorities after the ship's engine caught fire, and in late July, the U.K. Home Office confirmed 165 people had arrived in one boat.
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people → rescue → boat
"The risks to which smugglers expose migrants remain very high," a spokesperson for France's Maritime Prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea wrote in an email to CBC News.
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spokesperson → expose → News
- Audio
Spain’s mass border breach fuels anti-migrant backlash
12 migrants dead after boat tears apart in English Channel, authorities say
It noted that 2,231 people had been rescued in the first seven months of 2026, often with the help of citizen volunteer sea rescue organization SNSM Berck-sur-Mer.
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people → fuel → Mer
To evade police, the spokesperson said, smugglers are now employing a new "taxi boat" tactic that involves launching inflatable vessels about eight to 10 metres long from a point far removed from gathering areas.
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that → evade → areas
The smugglers then skirt the coast to pick up passengers near the shore.
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smugglers → skirt → shore
Humanitarian efforts run by citizens, volunteers
Last Friday, CBC News joined Angèle Vettorello as she drove her white van to Neufchâtel-Hardelot, a town some 50 kilometres south of Calais.
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she → run → Calais
It's become a popular departure spot for migrants, despite how much further it is from Dover.
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it → become → Dover
Vettorello works for Utopia 56, a volunteer group that patrols France's northern coast and nearby transit stations, helping migrants after failed crossings leave them stranded.
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migrants → work → them
Though calm seas offered perfect departure conditions, the beach Vettorello's team visited in Neufchâtel-Hardelot that day was nearly deserted after a fire broke out days earlier in a wooded area near the dunes where migrants had been camping.
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migrants → offer → dunes
At the nearby Dannes-Camiers train station, about 10 weary men were resting.
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men → rest → station
After a failed crossing attempt in Dunkirk, they'd trekked for hours to Neufchâtel-Hardelot only to find the beach blocked by police because of the fire.
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beach → fail → fire
The men accepted small meals of rice and beans from Vettorello's group of volunteers.
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men → accept → volunteers
Two retired women volunteering for a local organization arrived to distribute dry shampoo and disinfectant wipes.
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women → volunteer → shampoo
"It's obviously not enough," she said.
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she → say → ?
"The French rescue boats are not ready to welcome more than 100 people on board after a shipwreck.
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boats → welcome → shipwreck
Desire for safety keeps migrants moving
Mohammed, 35, was one of those resting at the train station, trying to figure out where to go.
He fled Gaza in 2023 and has been trying ever since to reach his brother, who's lived in London since 2019.
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who → keep → 2019
CBC News is not using Mohammed's full name because he fears being deported.
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he → use → name
He described journeying through 13 countries, detailing how he spent months hiding in Libya due to their agreement with the European Union to prevent migrants from travelling to the continent.
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he → describe → continent
In Croatia, he says he was arrested three times trying to cross into Slovenia.
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he → say → Slovenia
When asked about the conditions that caused him to flee Gaza, Mohammed would only say that Israeli soldiers had beaten him and that he'd lost his family.
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he → ask → family
He says he keeps going because he's heard "the U.K. is safe."
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U.K. → say → ?
Though many migrants have the same view of the U.K., the topic of immigration there is a polarizing one.
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topic → have → immigration
…and 16 more, not listed.
