Key facts
- UK-funded 4x4 vehicles were used by French police against student protesters in Dunkirk.
- The vehicles, known as Masstech VEZI, were intended for border control operations.
- A 14-year-old girl sustained a haematoma and was hospitalized.
- Nine specialized VEZI vehicles have been purchased under the Sandhurst treaty.
- The incident occurred during ongoing school protests across France.
French police used 4x4 vehicles, funded by British taxpayers for border control, to charge student protesters in Dunkirk on October 10. The incident, captured on video by French media outlet BFM TV, showed the vehicle, a Land Cruiser Masstech VEZI, driving at speed and reversing, causing students to scatter and one to be injured. The 14-year-old girl sustained a haematoma and was hospitalized but later discharged. The VEZI vehicles were acquired through the Sandhurst treaty, an Anglo-French agreement signed in January 2018 aimed at combating irregular immigration across the Channel. The treaty specifies UK financial support for French efforts to acquire resources like all-terrain vehicles for beach operations. A French parliamentary inquiry noted that nine such vehicles have been purchased under the treaty, with funding conditional on contributing directly to combating illegal migration. A spokesperson for the French interior minister confirmed an investigation into the incident. Sources close to the investigation expressed concern about the use of UK funds against French children and the militarization of policing. Utopia 56, an association supporting asylum seekers, criticized the use of force, stating that tactics tested at the border were being replicated in other contexts.