FRENCH cops have finally started stopping more migrant boats than they let sail to Britain – after pocketing more than £1billion from UK taxpayers.
New figures show officers disrupted nearly two-thirds of small boat launches last month, raising hopes Paris may finally be getting a grip on the crisis.
It comes after years of British frustration in Westminster with French inaction — with repeated scenes of migrants setting off while French cops stood and watched from the shoreline.
Ministers hope the figures show France is finally getting tougher after years of woeful interception rates.
In May, there were 82 attempted small-boat crossings.
French police disrupted 53 of them, which is around 65 per cent of the total.
Officials also claim 1,273 migrant crossing attempts were prevented, equivalent to around 40 per cent of all attempts during the month.
The figures emerged weeks after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a fresh £662million deal with Paris to tackle the crisis.
That agreement, signed in April, comes on top of a £480million pact agreed under the Conservatives in 2023.
Together, British taxpayers have now committed more than £1.1billion to French efforts to stop the boats.
Border Security Minister Alex Norris said: “Our work with France is cracking down on small boat launches and stopping the criminal smuggling gangs in their tracks.
“This builds on the 44,000 small boat crossing attempts prevented since the election.
“But we must and will go further.
“With new specialist French police units in place this summer, we are using every tool at our disposal to restore order and control to the UK’s border.”
French officers are now intercepting so-called “taxi boats” at sea before they can pick up migrants from beaches.
On May 2, one vessel travelling from Belgium was stopped before it could complete a journey to Britain.
All those on board were detained and the pilot was jailed.
French authorities say they have now stopped eight taxi boats in recent months and secured prison sentences for five smugglers.
Under the latest deal, France will deploy more maritime officers and new patrol vessels along the coast.
The agreement will also increase the number of officers patrolling beaches by around 40 per cent.
The Government has also made future payments conditional on results, meaning funding can be cut if the new tactics fail to reduce the number of migrants reaching Britain.
But ministers are still waiting to see whether France is following through on other promises made under the deal.
Under the agreement, French authorities had committed to trialling a new detention scheme in Coquelles from May, allowing migrants stopped before crossing to be held in a dedicated facility before being deported.
The French have also pledged to establish a detention centre as part of wider efforts to disrupt the small boats trade.
However, it is still not clear how many small boat migrants have been detained and if the scheme is up and running.
