“You can’t stay but you can’t go” - State violence at the UK-France border - December 2025.
“When you are here waiting to get to the UK, you will suffer. You don’t know if they want you to stay here or go out of the country. They won’t make it easy for you to stay here and get your papers. So you can’t stay here, but you can’t get to the UK.” - Samir, a man who Humans for Rights Network met in Calais in September 2025
The full report can be read here.
The Executive summary and key findings can be read here.
Our new report, “You can’t stay but you can’t go” - State violence at the UK-France border, reveals that people attempting to cross the UK-France border are subjected to horrifying levels of state violence. Although this generally happens on French soil, the report shows how UK government policy and millions of pounds of UK taxpayer money are responsible for the rise in border violence, leading to serious injury and death. Since 2018, the UK government has pledged at least 763.4 million euros to the French government to ‘secure’ the border. The UK government funds this violence and instigates violent policies through bilateral agreements with France as part of their increasingly hostile border policies.
Humans for Rights Network have worked with migrants and people seeking asylum in the UK and France for 10 years, documented police violence, increasingly dangerous Channel crossings, and the violent impacts of hostile migration policies from both the UK and French governments. Both governments continually choose to put people at risk, despite a detailed understanding of the brutal impact of their policies on people who die or suffer injury as a result of border securitisation.
“When you are here waiting to get to the UK, you will suffer.” - Samir, who we met in Calais in September 2025
2024 was the deadliest year ever at the UK-France border, with NGOs also witnessing increased levels of non-fatal violence throughout 2024 and 2025, following the transfer of hundreds of millions by the UK to France to ‘secure its border’ and prevent people from crossing to the UK. Humans for Rights Network has been working on both sides of this border for 10 years, during which time we have witnessed an increase in such violence, alongside an expansion of those responsible and the locations at which it takes place. This report details the violence people on the move experience and why the UK and French governments are responsible for it.
Key Findings
Life for people on the move at the UK-France border is characterised by widespread state violence largely perpetrated by police officers.
The UK government funds a proportion of this violence and instigates violent policies through bilateral agreements with France as part of their increasing border securitisation. Since 2018, the UK government has pledged at least 763.4 million euros to the French government to ‘secure’ the border.
People can't stay safely at the northern French border due to the hostile ‘zero point of fixation’ policy enacted through constant encampment eviction operations and random police violence.
People can’t safely leave France to cross to the UK due to a lack of safe routes and police repression of crossing attempts.
Both the UK and French governments have failed to ensure transparency and accountability about funding, operations and violence at the border. People rarely report police violence due to lengthy and unworkable processes that involve reporting to the police themselves.
Reduced numbers of boats making it to the border (due to confiscations throughout Europe as they are being transported to the Channel) and an increase in police violence cause chaos at embarkation that has led to overcrowding and deaths by crushing.
Since 2020, crossings to the UK by small boat have outnumbered crossings by lorry. However, people including unaccompanied children continue to use lorries to attempt to cross to the UK, leading to several cases of death and serious injury each year.
The use of tear gas and other forms of violence by police are endemic, with people enduring this violence in a variety of circumstances whilst at the UK-France border, including during evictions, crossing attempts and at random when travelling around the coastal area of Northern France. This violence is used indiscriminately, including when children are present.
Measures adopted by the UK government to protect the border and curb ‘irregular’ migration have only caused danger and harm - they have not eliminated the need for people to cross to the UK, but only made it more dangerous for people to do so.
The more the UK and French governments securitise the border, the more people must rely on smuggling networks to cross it. Violence used by smugglers around crossings has increased as police interventions have become more frequent and intense. Higher levels of police presence means crossings take place under much higher pressure, increasing the violence between those organising crossings and those relying on them.