Vital migrant patrols along the northern French coast could be "severely impacted" by the need to divert policing resources to cover the Paris Olympics, French policing unions and local officials have claimed.
Police officers from across France are being mobilised to take up duties around the French capital for the major sporting event, from July 26 to August 11.
The Olympics will be a huge logistical and security challenge for the French Government, coming against the backdrop of a heightened terror threat across Europe.
Any move to redeploy police away from northern French beaches would come right in the middle of what is normally the busiest period for attempted migrant crossings, the height of summer.
French migrants patrols could be 'severely impacted' by need to police Paris Olympics
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There are currently around 800 police and gendarmes, as well as 400 reservists providing round the clock patrols on a stretch of coastline spanning almost 100 miles.
Frédéric Okonek, a shop steward for the Unite-SGP policing union said: "There are five companies of CRS (French National Police) about 350 personnel, normally dedicated to the fight against illegal immigration who will not be available this summer because they are being requisitioned for the Olympics. How are we going to do it?"
The mayor of Wimereux, the scene of Tuesday morning's tragedy in which five migrants died as they attempted to cross the Channel, said: "The period of the Olympic Games is on everyone's mind along this coast, we're concerned policing will be severely impacted."
Jean-Luc Dubaéle said there was a desperate need for more policing resources, not less.
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French police officers patrolling the beach between Ambleteusse and Wimereux
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"We need men, we need arms", the mayor insisted.
He added: "If there had been a sufficient police presence, this tragedy would not have happened."
Officials around Wimereux, which is just north of Boulogne have complained for some time that far too few police officers are being stationed along what if one of the busiest stretches of coastline for migrant boat launches.
Frédéric Okonek said the increasing level of migrant violence was posing a huge problem for police in the area near Boulogne, who he said had a fraction of the resources of areas like Calais.
Huge numbers of migrants are still coming to Britain via small boats PA"In Boulogne we have a big problem with the number of migrants. We have almost the same number of (small boat) departures each year for a workforce that is four times less than Calais."
He said that last year, the Calais region recorded 222 small boat launches and the Boulogne region saw only slightly fewer, at 196 small boat incidents, despite having a quarter of the officer numbers stationed further up the coast.
In January last year, the UK government confirmed that it had agreed to pay France an additional £500 million over three years to help prevent small boat crossings.
Ministers said part of the money would be used to double the number of patrols along the northern French coast.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are confident in our cooperation with the French police and their dedication to the shared challenge of illegal migration.
“Operations carried out by French law enforcement are a matter for French authorities to comment on”.
The campaign's official logo of the Paris bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games
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During Tuesday morning's small boat tragedy, there were just a handful of officers, who officials said were powerless to stop more than a hundred migrants from launching their vessel on Wimereux beach.
French authorities said the migrants were fighting with each other after a large group of Africans stormed the boat as it was launching and forced their way onboard.
Police are investigating whether that surge directly led to the subsequent deaths of five migrants who fell off the dangerously overcrowded vessel.
The UK National Crime Agency has confirmed that a fourth migrant has been arrested in connection with the deaths.
The 18-yea-old from Sudan was arrested last night at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent.
The NCA said a 19-year-old from Sudan, who was initially arrested on Tuesday evening, has been released without charge and will be dealt with instead by immigration authorities.
Two other men, both 22, from Sudan and South Sudan, continue to be held in custody and are being questioned on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK and illegally entering the UK themselves.
