❓WHAT HAPPENED: Police in France arrested two British anti-mass migration activists for allegedly “inciting hatred.”
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Two British men, aged 35 and 53, and Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor Cécile Gressier.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The arrests occurred over the weekend in Calais, France.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We can only take in so many, too many is too many, and this is too much, isn’t it?” said one of the arrested activists.
🎯IMPACT: The arrests show that the French authorities have the capacity to act against people protesting illegal migrants gathering on the coast opposite England, even as they decline to act against the migrants themselves.
Two British activists were detained by French authorities in Calais over the weekend on suspicion of “inciting hatred” and planning actions aimed at stopping illegal boat migrant crossings to Britain. Cécile Gressier, the public prosecutor in Boulogne-sur-Mer, confirmed that the two men, aged 35 and 53, were arrested following online activity in which they discussed preventing migrants from reaching England via small boats operated by criminal people-smuggling networks. French police, who largely allow the migrants to operate on the coast without interference, said the comments went beyond political expression and raised concerns about potential public disorder and violence.
One of the men had used his YouTube channel to call on others to join him in guarding beaches along the northern French coast, while pledging to act “without violence.” In the video, he expressed anger over migration levels, saying, “We can only take in so many, too many is too many, and this is too much, isn’t it? That’s why we’re doing this.”
The arrests were linked to an initiative known as “Operation Overlord,” organized by British activist Danny Tommo and named after the Allied landings in Normandy during the Second World War. The campaign aims to target people-smuggling operations by monitoring beaches used for small-boat departures. Tommo has said the group’s presence temporarily disrupted crossings and argued that stronger enforcement could have a deterrent effect. “When pressure is applied by ordinary people, the authorities act immediately. And when they act at scale, the boats stop,” he said.
French authorities have adopted a firm stance against British activists involved in anti-migration actions along the Channel coast, contrasting with their lax attitude towards the migrants. In recent months, France has banned several British anti-illegal immigration figures from entering the country, accusing them of engaging in propaganda, reconnaissance, and attempts to interfere with migrant boats.
Britain’s Labour Party government has rejected calls from Reform Party leader Nigel Farage to turn boats back at sea or withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to ease deportations, arguing such measures would be unlawful and dangerous. The debate is taking place against a backdrop of wider integration challenges, including data showing that in parts of Britain with high asylum intake, a significant proportion of schoolchildren do not speak English.
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