It is thought six migrant boats left France in the first attempt to cross the English Channel in days on Saturday.
A group of men and women, which included multiple small children, was seen boarding a dinghy at a beach in Gravelines, which lies between Calais and Dunkirk.
But despite the brazen attempt, French police officers were seen standing on the beach and watching on, with one even seeming to take pictures on his phone.
After the boat was loaded, French authorities were then pictured escorting a small boat from aboard their own.
There have not been any arrivals of asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats for a week, the latest Home Office figures show.
But new data did reveal that France is intercepting fewer potential migrants than at any time since the phenomenon began, despite a £480 million deal with the UK’s neighbour to help stop crossings.
Around 38 percent of people attempting to make the dangerous crossing have been intercepted so far this year, some 8,347 compared to 13,167 who have arrived in the UK.
