Drones will patrol France’s rivers to stop small boats reaching Britain

Drones are set to patrol rivers in northern France after people smugglers switched tactics and began to load migrants onto small boats inland.

The aircraft will start flying across a 100-mile stretch of waterways, which includes areas of outstanding natural beauty enjoyed by holidaymakers.

People traffickers’ shift to rivers comes as French authorities increasingly clamp down on boats loading up on Channel beaches.

The problem came into sharp focus last week, when seven-year-old Iraqi girl Rula drowned in the Aa canal, at Watten, some 20 miles south of Calais.

Officials working for the Northern Defence and Security Zone Prefecture immediately pushed to introduce the new fly zone.

“The aircraft will contribute to a strategy aimed at safeguarding human lives,’ said a prefecture source.

“Day or night, they will be patrolling along the rivers, and the surrounding countryside, to stop the small boats. At night, thermal imaging will be used.”

Complaints over drone surveillance

As many as 80 aircraft at a time will be in action, and this figure will include support helicopters, said the source.

Drone surveillance in public spaces was legalised in France by a decree in April 2023, and there have been numerous complaints since then.

Aircraft continually whirring across some of France’s most beautiful wetlands is certain to lead to protests, especially as ramblers and others enjoying boating holidays will be among those filmed.

But the source claimed nobody would be identified, or “chased” by the drones.

“That’s not the point of the surveillance,” he said. “The cameras will simply pick up basic images, allowing police on the ground to intercept boats that are clearly being used by the smugglers.”

The drones will be deployed across three departments – Nord, Pas-de-Calais and the Somme – focusing on estuaries and coastal rivers, such as the Canche and Authie.

All are surrounded by walking paths and camping sites, and are crucial to tourism in the region.

Girl’s family to continue crossing Channel

The Aa canal, where Rula died, will be covered over a three-mile stretch which enters the English Channel at Gravelines beach, between Dunkirk and Calais.

Rula’s family had paid the equivalent of £5,000 for the trip across the Channel alone, having travelled overland from Iraq.

But the stolen pleasure boat provided for the last leg of the journey was falling apart, and had no life jackets onboard.

Rula was onboard with her parents and four other adults, as well as nine other children, aged between seven and 13, all of whom ended up in the river.

Charlotte Huet, a Dunkirk prosecutor, said a criminal enquiry had been opened for “manslaughter, unintentionally causing injuries, criminal conspiracy and aiding illegal immigration within an organised gang, while endangering others”.

Despite this, Rula’s family said they would continue their efforts in trying to get to Britain by a small boat, in a bid to claim asylum.

The fatality followed five migrants dying while trying to get to Britain on Jan 14.

In August last year, six people died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Channel.

And in November 2021, at least 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.

Some 29,000 people reached the UK in small boats in 2023, despite the British government saying that stopping them was a priority.