ECAULT BEACH, France: On clear days, the white cliffs of the United Kingdom, are visible from northern France, where men, women, and children gather in desperate determination, hoping to cross the sea and reach what they believe will be a better life.

Clutching only what they can carry, they often abandon most belongings to squeeze aboard flimsy inflatable boats launched from the French coast under the cover of darkness.

But these hopes are frequently dashed—sometimes quite literally. In one recent incident, captured on video near the French port of Boulogne and obtained by The Associated Press, French police waded into the surf and slashed the migrants' rubber boat with knives. The vessel collapsed rapidly, sending several people, including children, tumbling into the chilly waters.

One officer was seen carrying a pepper spray canister; others lunged at the boat with blades, ignoring the cries of "No! No!" from those on board. A woman's anguished wail pierced the air. Some men tried to resist—one flung a shoe, another splashed water—but the boat was quickly deflated, along with the dreams it carried.

France's northern coast has long been fortified—first against invading armies, now against waves of migrants trying to leave. Under pressure from the U.K., French authorities are increasingly using aggressive tactics to stop boats before they ever set off. While French officials insist there is no official policy to destroy vessels, recent incidents suggest otherwise.

Just four days after the Boulogne episode, the BBC filmed another strikingly similar scene on Écault beach. Again, officers waded into the water and punctured a migrant boat, forcing people out as it deflated. An AP journalist arriving moments later saw distressed individuals—some in life vests—stumbling back up dunes toward a wooded area where dozens had spent the previous night in a makeshift camp, without access to water or sanitation. Around a campfire, exhausted children cried while men sat smoking, talking, and singing songs of longing and loss.

In response to questions, the French Interior Ministry said that police are not instructed to systematically slash boats. However, it acknowledged that in the incident filmed by the BBC, the vessel was overloaded and at risk of capsizing. According to the ministry, officers acted to protect the migrants, pulling the boat to shore to "neutralize" it.

Yet this hardened approach has been welcomed by the British government, which co-funds France's coastal patrols and wants even more intervention, including in deeper waters. France is reportedly considering that request. But rights groups and police unions warn that such escalation could endanger both migrants and officers.

For migrants like Deniz, a Kurdish man who has attempted the crossing four times, the dangers are real—but so is the sense of having no alternative. He dreams of reuniting with his six-year-old daughter, Eden, in the U.K. Denied a short-term visa, Deniz has little hope of a legal route and sees the sea crossing as his only option. He described one thwarted attempt in which a group of 40 people pleaded with a lone officer to let them pass.

"He said no," Deniz recalled. "Nobody was going to stop him. We could have tried to stop him, but we didn't want to hurt him or argue. We just let him, and he cut it with a knife."

With each deflated boat, hope is punctured—but still, they wait. And when the weather clears and the white cliffs come into view again, so too does the dream of reaching them.