A group of vigilantes, known as the Raise the Colours activists, who previously led efforts to festoon Britain’s streets with Union flags, have now taken their crusade against Channel crossings to the French coast. They’ve filmed themselves sabotaging small boat engines hidden in the sand dunes.
The determined activists, committed to stopping potential migrants from undertaking the dangerous journey, have released a new video where they uncover a dinghy engine buried by unscrupulous human traffickers.
In the dramatic footage, they can be heard announcing: “We’ve told the authorities that we’ve found this buried, we’ve f***** it up.”
Pursuing migrant boats, with no sign of French law enforcement. Ryan Bridges, co-leader of the group, had earlier recorded himself chasing men trying to board a dinghy in Gravelines – all while French police were noticeably missing from the scene, according to The Sun.
The vigilantes assert they’ve made three trips to France in the past two weeks, chronicling each excursion on their YouTube channel and soliciting financial backing from viewers.
Channel crossings come to a standstill, but 39,000 have already completed the journey this year. The last successful crossing from France saw 217 individuals packed into three overcrowded dinghies last Friday, with unfavorable weather conditions preventing any further attempts over the past six days.
However, the total number of arrivals via the Channel this year has already exceeded an astonishing 39,000.
Macron’s pledge for stricter measures falls short
Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to clamp down on the boats as part of a summer agreement with Sir Keir Starmer, French authorities have been slow to act, citing concerns over potential risk to lives.
The UK has funneled £480 million into France’s treasury to enhance policing and invest in new technology aimed at curbing the wave of crossings.
Dunkirk prosecutors are investigating vigilante group
Prosecutors in Dunkirk have confirmed they are probing the Raise the Colours group after receiving complaints, with police now examining the matter.
The vigilantes’ contentious actions have ignited a fiery debate over the Channel migrant crisis, as tensions escalate over the ceaseless influx of boats and the apparent inability of authorities on both sides of the Channel to find a solution.