Bombay Durpun - France bans 10 British anti-migrant activists

Immigration has become a central political issue in the United Kingdom, as the government seeks to stem a wave of undocumented migrants arriving on British shores after paying smugglers to cross the Channel.

The arrivals have fuelled widespread public concern and rising anger on the British far right, and since last year videos have circulated of anti-migrant vigilantes visiting France to take matters into their own hands.

France's interior ministry said it responded to reports that members of the "Raise the Colours" movement had conducted anti-migrant activities in France.

On Tuesday, "territorial bans were issued against 10 British nationals, identified as activists within the movement and having carried out actions on French soil", it said.

"Raise the Colours" on X denounced the ban as "absolutely disgraceful".

In a written comment to AFP, it said it understood the ban targeted "specific individuals, rather than the organisation as a whole".

"Raise the Colours has always maintained that its activities must remain peaceful and within the law. The organisation does not support violence or any unlawful activity," it added.

Its website on Wednesday included a banner that said the movement did not support "vigilante behaviour" or "anyone travelling to France, approaching migrant vessels, or attempting to intervene in crossings".

- 'Not welcome' -

The French ministry said it would not name the 10 people, and did not describe the exact nature of their actions.

French authorities have opened an investigation over an alleged "aggravated assault" on migrants in September in a coastal area near the northern city of Dunkirk.

Four men carrying British and English flags verbally and physically assaulted a group of migrants in Grand-Fort-Philippe on the night on September 9 to 10, telling them they were not welcome in England, a charity working with migrants called Utopia 56 told AFP.

"Raise The Colours", in a post on X responding to a news report of the probe in November, however claimed it had "only been going over to France in the past month".

Another of its social media accounts on Instagram late last year posted videos of anti-immigration activists on France's northern coastline.

In one video posted in November, a man filmed himself on a French beach, saying he had found a small inflatable boat buried in the sand and had slashed it.

"That is not going to England," said the man, who elsewhere has called himself Ryan Bridge.

In another post published earlier the same month, he waded into the sea shouting at what appeared to be dozens of undocumented migrants boarding an inflatable dinghy on their way to England.

"You're not welcome in our country," he said, calling the passengers "potential rapists, murderers and child abusers".

In a third November video, Bridge filmed himself in the French capital speaking to would-be migrants.

AFP had spotted three such individuals on a beach in the northern area of Gravelines on December 5.

- 'Fan hatred' -

Paul Alauzy, from the Medecins du Monde charity that helps migrants, welcomed what he described as a travel ban against "far-right activists who fan hatred and sow division by targeting extremely vulnerable people who are simply seeking refuge".

A spokeswoman from L'Auberge des Migrants, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her safety, said it was a good move from the French authorities, but that it came very late.

Her charity had been signalling a problem since May last year, she said, adding they had received reports of people being tasered and person who had their arm broken.

The debate about immigration in the United Kingdom last year triggered a new trend of flying English and British flags.

Anti-racism campaigners say far-right activists are behind the main organisers, "Raise the Colours".

Migrants from impoverished or war-torn countries have long sought to cross the Channel from France to the United Kingdon dreaming of a better life in Britain.

Last year saw the second highest number of undocumented migrants arrive on British shores since such crossings began in 2018.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has struggled to reduce the number of migrants arriving in the country -- the vast majority of them legally.

The issue is being exploited by the anti-immigration Reform party led by Nigel Farage.

burs-ah/giv

P.Raval--BD