According to AFP, on July 28 local time, Chris Pipher, the British Conservative Party's Shadow Home Secretary, posted a message on social media stating that he was shot by a French warship while inspecting illegal migrants crossing the English Channel by boat. In response to this incident, the French government stated on July 29 that it was a training exercise, and the French military personnel did not fire at Pipher.
The video shows that on the 28th, Philppe and a BBC reporter were inspecting the English Channel by boat. At that time, a French military ship passed by nearby. A French soldier standing at the rear of the ship fired 17 shots into the sea using a pistol. Philppe claimed that he believed the officer might have fired the shots as a warning or to intimidate, attempting to prevent media coverage of the smuggling incident.
BBC journalist Michael Johnson also stated this is an unusual incident, "Our ship has received no warnings. Even now, the target of the French warship remains unclear."
Live footage showed a soldier standing at the rear of a French warship shooting at the sea with a pistol. The Times
However, the French government denied that French troops fired at Philp. According to a statement issued by the French Maritime Authority on the English Channel and the North Sea, sailors on the French warship were conducting pistol drills at that time. “Individual combat training is part of the normal activities of ships in service,” and the warship involved did not participate in any law enforcement or surveillance operations targeting illegal immigrants.
The statement also emphasized that this training exercise had nothing to do with the activities of British ships. French warships sent a signal before the training, and the ship in which Philppe was aboard was also outside the range of the guns.
However, Phelps refused to accept the French explanation, calling the French statement 'irreplicable', and insisted that 'no warnings regarding live-fire training were received'.
