Figures that show the most popular days for migrants to cross the English Channel have caused a row over the working arrangements of French border guards.
Home Office statistics show that 40% of crossings occur at weekends, with Saturday the most popular day for those attempting the perilous journey.
In 2024, 38,816 people crossed the Channel, with 8,421 doing so on a Saturday and 6,133 crossing on a Sunday. The figure for Mondays was 2,963, Tuesdays 4,817, Wednesdays 5,610, Thursdays 3,834 and Fridays 5,038.
The stats have led to accusations that French gendarmerie, police and Border Force officers do not plan their staffing adequately at weekends, meaning that people are better able to make the crossing.
The French have strongly denied any insinuation that the popularity of the date is to do with working patterns.
But a former immigration minister has accused the French border force of “rigidity” in their shift patterns, meaning that they fail to quickly increase staffing levels when the sea is calm and journeys are more likely, allowing them to cut shifts when the sea is stormy and migrants are unlikely to make a crossing attempt.
The former minister told the Telegraph: “I believe at weekends that they don’t deploy as many officers, which means people-smugglers target their efforts at the weekend if the weather is good.”
This was backed up by another source who told Sky News that “gangs have realised there are lower or less engaged staffing on weekends on the French side.””
Pierre Henri Dumont, who was the Calais MP from 2017-2024 hit back at the claims, arguing the issue was not really one of staff size.
He said: “The reality is you can have as many police officers as you want, but people will cross the Channel. If you have eight rather than 100 police officers, that won’t change anything at all.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has urged France to copy Belgium’s method for preventing crossings, claiming they have seen attempts stop “almost entirely”.
He said: “They have policed it very hard and been willing to do interceptions at sea near the Belgian coast to return people.
“That has meant illegal migrants and people smugglers no longer bother trying.
“The French should adopt that, because it is in their interest. It would mean in a few months the illegal migrants would give up.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “[We understand that] French law enforcement officers patrol beaches throughout the week, including weekends, and … our joint work with the French saw over 28,000 of these crossing attempts prevented last year.”