An influx of migrants attempting to cross the Channel has left locals in a French town increasingly concerned for their safety, according to its deputy mayor. It is thought up to 300 migrants attempt to board small boats from Gravelines for the UK every day with the commune struggling to cope with the migrant crisis.
More than 21,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far in 2025 – a record for this point in the year – and it appears the issue is also impacting people’s everyday lives in Gravelines. Alain Boonefaes said the UK and France must find a “good solution” as he shared how it is impacting his town, east of Calais. He spoke about how one resident has been left feeling “afraid”.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Boonefaes said: “There’s a woman who lives alone next door. Her husband travels; she’s afraid. She’s alone with two children. She’s afraid.
“She asks me if there are migrants coming to the house. What should I do? … And when we call, the police are so busy fighting migration that they don’t necessarily have the manpower to go and reassure the population. That’s really a problem for people.”
Local teacher Alain Deflesselles said he no longer can take his children for walks around Gravelines’ dunes due to fears of coming across a migrant camp.
He told the newspaper: “Obviously we have police, they protect us. But we have less and less freedom of the area we can go now.
“I couldn’t say anything bad about them [the gendarmes], as their work is very difficult.”
Another local that works at a campsite in Gravelines claimed customers’ concerns over the migrants had seen trade drop by 10%.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are in discussions over a “one in, one out” returns deal for asylum seekers which would see the UK send small boat migrants back to the continent, in exchange for Britain accepting asylum seekers in Europe who have a British link.
The proposal has reportedly angered five EU nations — Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus — due to concerns it could see asylum seekers returned to their countries.
Mr Boonefaes, whose remit includes crime and safety, said he doesn’t believe the plan is viable.
“I don’t see how it’ll work. It means we share the migrants among ourselves,” Mr Boonefaes told The Telegraph.
He is one of seven deputy mayors responsible for the commune which is home to 11,500 people.
