In a sign of the severity of the situation, Darmanin said he would travel to the site, near the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, later in the afternoon.

Tackling illegal immigration has been a priority for both the British and French governments. More than 2,000 people have arrived in the UK on small boats over the past seven days, according to UK government figures.

Last week, French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer pledged to work closer together to dismantle migrant smuggling routes.

The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous. In August, two people were found dead after a boat carrying migrants trying to cross the Channel ran into difficulties.