Groups of migrants hoping to make the perilous journey to UK shores have reportedly stormed French police officers on a beach near Calais. In the early afternoon along an area of the beach busy with tourists, French authorities faced a storm of “hundreds” of migrants attempting to overwhelm border authorities. The so-called “flash mobs” have been described as a “new trend” as the number of migrants crossing the British Channel to UK soil has reached record highs.
Reporting from the tourist beach near Calais, Channel 4 foreign correspondent Paraic O’Brien described the scene.
He said: “This is just after Monday’s record high, what we’re seeing is a new trend.
“Police sources are describing it to us as migrant flash mobs.
“Hundreds of migrants arrive onto one beach and try to overwhelm the police in terms of numbers.”
Authorities at the scene were able to foil the attempted launch, forcing the huge group of migrants to turn back.
The plan had reportedly been to launch several coordinated crossings at the same time in order to overwhelm the police force.
It comes as French authorities were captured tackling an attempted crossing at a beach near Dunkirk where a group of 30 to 40 migrants stormed towards the scene before they were met by officers.
French police slashed the inflatable dinghy the group had been carrying and pepper sprayed at least one man who attempted to confront officers following the incident.
Read more: French police slash dinghies and pepper spray people near Dunkirk VID