French police have rammed migrant boats off the coast of Mayotte, an overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, causing at least 24 deaths or disappearances since 2007, including children and babies. These tactics include direct collisions and circling boats to create waves – in contrast to France’s insistence that it cannot use similar methods in the English Channel due to legal restrictions, despite UK funding for border patrols.
Thousands of migrants attempt the crossing from Comoros to Mayotte each year on fragile “kwassa kwassa” boats, seeking French citizenship. Authorities have escalated expulsions since 2023, deploying 1,800 police. A senior gendarmerie officer described the procedure bluntly: “If they do not stop, we hit in the front.” One video posted by officers on LinkedIn and obtained by Lighthouse Reports and The Times shows a police speedboat circling a kwassa to swamp it with waves—an apparent example of tactics long denied by officials. The clip, intended to showcase their work, instead offers rare proof of aggressive intervention.
On July 15, 2025, a police vessel rammed a kwassa, killing two migrants and leaving seven missing. Survivor Zoubert, 25, recalled: “The boat ripped apart and everyone fell into the water.
“There were three babies; everyone was screaming. We saw people die.” Another survivor, Amahada, claimed police circled them before “at full speed, they ran into us… They positioned themselves far away and watched us die.”
In 2019, migrant Farid Djassadi lost both legs to a police propeller; a court later ruled the boat’s engine exceeded legal limits and officers lacked training.
Officials acknowledge Mayotte operates under looser standards. An anonymous maritime affairs official said: “Mayotte is subject to constant migratory flows that destabilise the island. Necessity is the law… In Mayotte, if 10 people die, nobody cares, it’s not news.”
A former minister admitted: “Intercepting boats aggressively was not legal but yes, probably it happens.”
By contrast, France insists the Channel is different. Under the 2023 Sandhurst Treaty, Paris receives £500 million from the UK for patrols, but officers are barred from ramming dinghies at sea, citing maritime law and risk of capsizing.
They can destroy boats on beaches and in shallow waters—footage from July 2025 shows police puncturing inflatables near Boulogne, forcing migrants ashore. UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said such actions are a “welcome strategy” and is pressing for interceptions up to 300 metres offshore.
A new Franco-British deal allows “one in, one out” returns: up to 50 migrants weekly can be sent back to France in exchange for equivalent legal admissions to the UK. However police unions have warned of the risks. Régis Debut, a senior representative, said: “One wrong move, and we’re in court for manslaughter”.