A British member of parliament said a French patrol vessel fired 17 shots near a boat carrying him and a BBC crew in the English Channel, describing the incident as an attempt at intimidation. French authorities denied the claim, stating the gunfire was part of a routine training exercise.
The incident occurred at 09:15 BST (10:15 CET), about three miles from the French coast, according to reports. The French ship, the Flamant, was approximately 300 meters away when it fired the shots.
Chris Philp, a Conservative MP, stated that the shots felt like warning shots or attempted intimidation. The BBC journalist Michael Keohan, who was on the boat, said: "There was no warning for our boat, no signs given that this was."
Captain Matt Coker, also present, said he had never seen anything like it and believed it was an attempt at intimidation. A Times photographer captured an image of a sailor firing toward the sea during the incident.
French authorities offered a different account. They stated that the gunfire was part of a routine training exercise and was not linked to the British vessel or migrant monitoring. The French embassy added that the firing exercise was conducted under international safety rules, with required signals displayed and safety perimeter respected.
Chris Philp plans to raise the incident with the French ambassador to the UK. The French authorities stated that the vessel Flamant was not monitoring migrant boats at the time of the incident.