Smaller camps across a wider area
The clearance ordered by then-Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on October 24, 2016, broke up what had been Europe's largest shantytown and the main gateway to the United Kingdom. Up to 10,000 migrants had lived there during the migrant crisis; most were subsequently relocated elsewhere in France.
Camps have since appeared in woods and scrubland along the coast. France 24 reports that dozens now occupy a wider area of northern France, with authorities dismantling them every 48 hours on average.
UK Border Security Commander Duncan Capps put the number of migrants living in northern French camps at around 3,800 as of October 2026, most in a squalid camp near Dunkirk. According to The National, he said that was roughly twice the figure of about two years earlier and attributed the increase to French efforts that have made Channel crossings harder.
Feeding those waiting to cross
At Loon-Plage, about 10 kilometers from Dunkirk, the demand for food was evident during a Monday visit in October reported by Le Monde. A line was already waiting when the aid association Salam's van arrived shortly after 12:30 p.m. As people surged forward for meals, volunteer Christine intervened while distributing cutlery. She declined to give her last name.
"They're hungry. They haven't eaten since lunchtime yesterday," said Claire Millot, Salam's vice president and a retired classics teacher.
Salam grew out of a citizen initiative. For the distribution, volunteers prepared 58 kilograms of pasta along with a large tub of chicken and broth, using a parish hall provided by the church in neighboring Grande-Synthe.
"We prepare for about 1,000 to 1,200 people, but we never know in advance how many will be here, because if the weather allows, many head for the coast to try to cross the Channel to England," volunteer Marie-Reine said.
Fewer arrivals, more crowded boats
The growth in the camp population comes as small-boat arrivals in Britain have fallen. UK Home Office figures cited by BBC News show that 20,935 people crossed from France between January 1 and October 18, 2026, a decline of 43% from the same period in 2025.
Boats nevertheless have become larger and more crowded, according to reporting by BBC News and The National. A record 230 migrants were detected aboard one vessel in 2026. Boats reaching the UK from October 19, 2025, through October 18, 2026, carried an average of 68 people, more than twice the 2021 average.
People from Eritrea made up 18% of small-boat arrivals to the UK between July 2025 and June 2026, according to Home Office figures cited by BBC News.
More controls and longer routes
Britain and France signed an agreement on April 23, 2026, to combat illegal crossings. The agreement provides for £500 million (€580 million) to strengthen controls in northern France and another £161 million (€187 million) for actions funded according to their impact on preventing crossings.
French personnel deployed under the partnership will increase by 53%, from 907 in the 2023–2026 cycle to 1,392 in the 2026–2029 cycle.
Meanwhile, smugglers are increasingly using departure beaches farther south and west of Calais and Dunkirk. Authorities in Seine-Maritime recorded 58 crossing attempts in 2026, compared with 30 the previous year, BBC News reported.
At least 84 people died attempting the Channel crossing in 2024, according to United Nations figures cited by BBC News. Some of the routes now being used are nearly 60 nautical miles long. Capps warned in The National that attempts on those routes in winter could lead to loss of life.
