Conservative lawmaker Chris Philp said a French vessel began firing live rounds without a public warning while passing near a boat carrying him and British journalists observing migrant crossings.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A senior British opposition politician accused French authorities of attempted intimidation after a French patrol vessel conducted a live-fire exercise while passing close to a boat carrying the lawmaker and journalists in the English Channel.
Conservative Party home affairs spokesman Chris Philp was aboard a hired vessel Wednesday morning to discuss migrant crossings with British news organizations when the French patrol boat P676 Flamant approached and gunfire began.
The BBC, which was interviewing Philp at sea, recorded the vessel passing approximately 300 meters to the British boat’s starboard side as a French officer reportedly fired a handgun at a towed target.
The Flamant-class coastal patrol vessels are primarily used for maritime security and constabulary duties. They do not carry fixed naval weapons systems but can carry machine guns and other firearms.
Philp said no warning was broadcast over marine radio before the firing began. He argued that the timing and proximity of the exercise appeared deliberate because the surrounding area offered sufficient open water for the French vessel to conduct the activity elsewhere.
Philp posted footage and comments about the encounter on X.
The incident “felt to me like an attempted intimidation to stop us covering migrant crossings,” Philp told the BBC.
“It is extraordinary that the French Navy will fire live rounds to defend their waters against a visiting British politician but cannot bear to do anything about stopping illegal Channel crossings,” he said.
“If France showed people smugglers half the seriousness they showed me, the boats would stop.”
“Instead, the French wave them through and pass them off to the British coastguard so it’s our problem.”
Philp said he planned to file a formal complaint with the French ambassador.
The Times reported that the French government may have informed the British government in advance that a live-fire exercise was planned.
That information was not made public, however, and no notice to mariners was posted, according to the report. No warning was broadcast over marine radio before the exercise began.
A Home Office spokesperson said British authorities were seeking additional information from France.
“We are in contact with the French authorities to understand the full context of this incident,” the spokesperson said.
French government sources cited by the BBC said Flamant was not engaged in monitoring migrant boats at the time of the encounter.
The vessel has previously operated in the English Channel during migrant-related missions and was connected to events surrounding the 2021 deaths of 27 migrants in the Channel.
French vessels have also previously been accused of obscuring aspects of their Channel operations. Reports in 2020 described missions in which French patrol boats monitored or accompanied migrant vessels before they entered British waters.
Subsequent reports alleged that some French naval vessels turned off automatic tracking systems while conducting Channel operations.
Warships are not legally required to continuously broadcast their positions, but disabling tracking systems in a heavily traveled civilian waterway can reduce visibility for nearby vessels and maritime collision-avoidance systems.
Wednesday’s encounter adds to continuing tensions between Britain and France over responsibility for stopping small migrant boats attempting to cross the English Channel.
Philp used the incident to criticize French enforcement efforts, while British officials said they were waiting for a fuller explanation from French authorities about the firing exercise and the advance notice provided to the British government.
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