GRAVELINES: As an agreement for the return to France of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Britain in small boats is being haltingly implemented, an undiminished number of people are attempting the cross-Channel journey and taking advantage of stable weather.

On Friday a migrant was expelled from Britain after losing a High Court challenge, the second person to be sent back to France under the “one in one out” pilot scheme agreed by both governments over the summer.

The removal is a small victory for Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the first returns under the UK-France deal were stymied this week by legal challenges.

But undeterred about the risk of such removals, dozens of migrants gathered on a northern French beach on Friday, hoping to catch a ride on one of the boats cruising along the coast to pick up passengers.

Police, who have made their presence felt along the northern French coast in the last months, were unusually nowhere to be seen on this early morning.

People-smugglers, who typically charge thousands of euros per passenger, shouted orders at the group, whose members were mostly from Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

At their first attempt, over half of them managed to climb aboard, while the others returned to the dunes, wet, cold and disappointed.

A similar scene played out twice more near the coastal town of Gravelines.

Of the around 150 hopefuls, 60 managed to get a ride, according to an estimate by reporters at the scene.

‘Beyond politics’

Since the start of the year, a record 31,000 clandestine passengers have arrived in England via the Channel.

Twenty-three died during the crossings this year, and three have been missing since last week. No arrivals in the UK were recorded earlier this week due to windy weather, but this is set to change as more stable and sunny conditions set in.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2025