France’s Défenseure des droits (Defender of Rights), Claire Hédon, issued a searing 18-page decision on 26 January 2026 that rebukes police units deployed along the northern coast for firing intermediate-force weapons—rubber-bullet launchers, tear-gas canisters and sting-ball grenades—at groups of migrants attempting to leave French beaches in small boats bound for the United Kingdom. The watchdog reviewed 36 incidents reported since 2022, many documented by humanitarian NGO Utopia 56, and concluded that officers routinely ignored the principles of necessity and proportionality. In several cases, weapons were discharged at night, at close range, or when children were present, creating a serious risk of capsizing inflatable vessels already in the surf.
Hédon noted a systemic lack of transparency: officers frequently failed to switch on body-worn cameras and, contrary to a 2017 directive, submitted only a handful of mandatory TSUA use-of-force reports. One operation near Gravelines in April 2024 involved the firing of 10 rubber bullets and 37 tear-gas rounds, yet no detailed reporting was filed. The ombudsman is urging an immediate ban on the use of such weapons “when the sole aim is to prevent embarkation,” mandatory activation of cameras, and full accounting of every munition discharged.
![French Rights Ombudsman Decries Use of Tear-Gas and Rubber Bullets Against Channel Migrants]()
The Interior Ministry has not publicly responded, but the findings raise the prospect of legal challenges in French administrative courts and the European Court of Human Rights. For mobility managers and cross-Channel carriers, the report signals a harsher enforcement environment on France’s northern coast, potentially increasing last-mile risks for staff, contractors and supply-chain flows transiting Calais and Dunkirk. Logistics firms may need to brief drivers on possible delays and ensure crisis-response protocols are up to date.
Amid this uncertain climate, VisaHQ can help individual travelers and corporate mobility planners secure the correct French visas and travel documents quickly. Its user-friendly portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) offers real-time requirement checks, document-assembly tools and concierge support, reducing administrative friction when cross-border movements are time-sensitive.
The decision also renews pressure on Paris and London to complement policing with expanded safe-migration channels and faster asylum processing—issues that corporate mobility teams continue to monitor as they plan 2026 workforce deployments that straddle the UK–EU border.
Hédon noted a systemic lack of transparency: officers frequently failed to switch on body-worn cameras and, contrary to a 2017 directive, submitted only a handful of mandatory TSUA use-of-force reports. One operation near Gravelines in April 2024 involved the firing of 10 rubber bullets and 37 tear-gas rounds, yet no detailed reporting was filed. The ombudsman is urging an immediate ban on the use of such weapons “when the sole aim is to prevent embarkation,” mandatory activation of cameras, and full accounting of every munition discharged.
The Interior Ministry has not publicly responded, but the findings raise the prospect of legal challenges in French administrative courts and the European Court of Human Rights. For mobility managers and cross-Channel carriers, the report signals a harsher enforcement environment on France’s northern coast, potentially increasing last-mile risks for staff, contractors and supply-chain flows transiting Calais and Dunkirk. Logistics firms may need to brief drivers on possible delays and ensure crisis-response protocols are up to date.
Amid this uncertain climate, VisaHQ can help individual travelers and corporate mobility planners secure the correct French visas and travel documents quickly. Its user-friendly portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) offers real-time requirement checks, document-assembly tools and concierge support, reducing administrative friction when cross-border movements are time-sensitive.
The decision also renews pressure on Paris and London to complement policing with expanded safe-migration channels and faster asylum processing—issues that corporate mobility teams continue to monitor as they plan 2026 workforce deployments that straddle the UK–EU border.
