A Photographer at a French Beach Said Gendarmes Checked His ID While Leaving 30 Nearby Migrants Unchecked — He Filmed the Whole Exchange

A video posted to X by the account @thenowherephoto showed the user being stopped by French gendarmes at Wissant Beach and asked for identification. 

"French gendarmes stopped me on Wissant Beach today and demanded my identification," he wrote, adding that roughly 30 migrants were sitting on the beach nearby at the time.

He said he and two others with him were the ones asked to identify themselves. "Three of us were asked for ID. None of the migrants appeared to be asked for theirs," he wrote.

The man pointed to two individuals nearby and asked the gendarmes whether they intended to check their identification as well. 

"Do you want their ID or not? You want our ID or theirs? What about their ID?" he said. He continued questioning the officers about their approach, asking, "Isn't it strange how we get asked for ID, but you guys don't?"

He then asked one of the two men where he was from, asking if he was from Sudan. The man replied that he was from England. The gendarme asked the man if he wanted to go to England, to which he replied, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." 

The exchange did not include any confirmation from the gendarmes about the immigration status of either man, and neither man's origin or legal status was verified by an official source in the video.

The user closed the video by asking the officers whether they wanted to photograph him further, then wrapped up the encounter. "You want to record us anymore? You want a photo of us? Can you take our photo? No. Have a nice day, guys," he said.

Several commenters criticized what they described as selective enforcement. One commenter made an unsubstantiated claim about French government policy writing, "It's just intimidation tactics. They know what's going on because it's state sponsored."

Another commenter suggested a way to test whether the pattern held up under different circumstances, writing, "You should get some Black British patriots to do what you are doing and see if they get asked for ID."

The X user added in his caption, "If the priority is preventing illegal Channel crossings, shouldn't enforcement be focused on those suspected of attempting them, rather than photographers documenting what's happening?" 

 One commenter related to their own experience with policing in America, writing that officers "the world over are cowards and bullies, afraid of real criminals," and arguing they focus on the wrong targets.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the full circumstances of the stop, including the gendarmerie's reasoning for checking identification. The details above reflect the account as shared on X by @thenowherephoto. The identities of the gendarmes and the two men who approached during the video have not been confirmed.