The dramatic moment in which the French police roja an inflatable boat with which a group of migrants tried to reach the United Kingdom

The French police usually follow strict rules that prohibit them from entering the sea in case their lives may be at risk.

“Come on, let's enter,” said one of the gendarmes, removing his bulletproof vest and drawing a small knife. His colleagues also got rid of their protective vests, placing the equipment in the back of a police vehicle before running to the water.

It is possible to interpret this unusual incident as evidence that the French police – which is under increasing pressure to stop the increase in migrants of small boats to the United Kingdom – is changing tactics.

However, Fuentes in France told the BBC that the procedure changes that are now being considered almost surely will focus on the use of patrol boats in the sea to intercept the “boat-taxi” before they are completely full, instead of approving more aggressive police interventions on the beach.

The official spokesman of the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the images of the French police destroying the boat were “a significant moment and an action that we received with satisfaction.”

“We want to see that more energetic actions are taken. That is precisely the approach of our work, it is the result of this work,” said the spokesman.

A few meters from the coast, the boat itself was clearly in difficulties. People were crowded around the outer engine, which had stranded briefly but were trying to turn on again.

The waves crashed under the boat, shaking it out of control, and strong shouts of several children were heard who were in danger of being crushed on board.

Previously, two numerous groups of people with orange life vests had come out of the nearby dune and quickly entered the sea.

In total there were probably between 80 or 100 people. When the first “Bote-Taxi”-used by traffickers to collect passengers in different points of the French coast-passed by about 100 meters from the shore, was clearly full and did not stop to collect more people.

A few minutes later, a second boat, almost without passengers, approached the shore, observed by a coastal fence of France that was more entered in the La Mancha channel.

Initially, people mobilized forward in organized groups, holding hands, and led by a man who seemed to be leading the actions.

But when the inflatable boat turned around and approached in reverse, a tumult was formed as dozens rushed to board from the water, which reached them to the waist.

At first, the gendarmes refused to intervene and stayed still observing from the coast.

An agent repeated an explanation that is already familiar to me: that they cannot enter the water, with the exception of rescuing people.

But as the situation became more and more chaotic, the uniformed in the scene clearly felt that a fine line had crossed, that those on board were now in danger, and that there was a small opportunity to disable the boat with relative security while the traffickers were distracted in the attempt to restart the engine.

A police repeatedly cut the rubber boat: there were cries and screams of fury and frustration of some of those on board.

A young woman, who was in the center of the tumult, squeezed in the vessel stern near the engine, was raised and taken while other people swimmed hastily towards the sand.

Moments later, the boat was dragged to the shore by the police while the migrants began to collect the items they had abandoned on the beach and headed inland, among the sandy paths, for the dunes to the closest village to take a bus back to the migrant camps further north.

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