Two British far-right activists arrested in France

Two far-right British activists have been arrested by French authorities in what is believed to be the first case of its kind.The arrests followed an order issued on Friday prohibiting British participants in a planned “stop the boats” protest, dubbed Operation Overlord, in the departments of Nord and Calais" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="17634" data-entity-type="location">Pas-de-Calais. The order was due to expire at 8am on Monday but it has been extended for two more days.UK far-right activists have been travelling to northern France with increasing frequency in recent months with a declared intention of stopping small boats from crossing the Channel, something they say French and UK governments have failed to do.In 2025 more than 40,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats, and so far in 2026 931 people have made the journey. On these visits far-right agitators have posted footage of themselves slashing dinghies and confronting migrants.According to the public prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer in the Calais" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="17634" data-entity-type="location">Pas-de-Calais prefecture, François-Xavier Lauch, the two unnamed individuals were arrested broadcasting live videos from the French coast that allegedly contained discriminatory remarks and suggested their potential involvement in Operation Overlord. They were taken into custody near the northern town of Calais on Sunday evening, Lauch said.Aged 35 and 53, the men were recording content likely to incite hatred live on a YouTube channel, police sources told Le Monde.Lauch said the French authorities would take strict administrative measures against them, including an order to leave French territory based on the threat to public order, with a view to their return to their country of origin.The men were placed in police custody for inciting hatred and participating in a group with the aim of preparing acts of violence, based on comments made on social media, said the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor Cecile Gressier.Gressier said these are the first arrests of British far-right activists in France on these grounds, adding that they are not accused of violence against individuals.The two men were not among the 10 far-right activists banned from French territory since mid-January by the interior ministry on charges of “violent actions” against migrants in northern France.Operation Overlord was initially part of Raise the Colours but has now been taken over by Daniel Thomas, an associate of Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon. The Raise the Colours account on X said on Saturday it had nothing to do with the operation led by Thomas.