Five British nationals arrested in Dunkirk have been banned from entering the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments in northern France for six months following allegations of intimidation targeting migrants along the coastline.
Public prosecutors announced Sunday that the five men, who range in age from 30 to 46, were also ordered to surrender seized weapons and pay 500 euros each to a victim support association. According to Charlotte Huet, the public prosecutor handling the case, the suspects were carrying illegal category D weapons at the time of their arrest on Thursday, including tear gas and pepper spray canisters, a wooden stick, and a baton.
Authorities stated that the group belongs to the ultra-right political fringe and traveled along the French littoral in a minibus they had nicknamed “the battle bus.” During their movements, the men live-streamed footage on a social media network showing them engaging in acts of intimidation against migrants, according to the prefecture of the Nord department.
An association alerted prosecutors to the group upon their arrival in France, accusing them of committing violence against individuals in irregular situations. However, the prosecutor clarified that the subsequent investigation did not uncover sufficient evidence to formally establish acts of physical violence.
The incident follows previous enforcement actions against foreign far-right militants operating in the region. In January, authorities arrested and expelled two British men suspected of participating in an unauthorized anti-migrant demonstration near Calais. At mid-January, ten additional British far-right activists were barred from French territory following accusations of carrying out violent actions against migrants along the northern coast in preceding months.
Tensions surrounding cross-Channel migration remain a prominent political issue in the United Kingdom, where hostile and occasionally violent gatherings targeting migrants have become increasingly frequent as asylum seekers continue attempting to cross the English Channel from France.
