A migrant attempting to cross the English Channel illegally on Saturday stabbed a French gendarme who was trying to block their group from setting sail.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, as people smugglers began to try to release the next wave of illegal migrants to the shores of Britain, a member of the gendarmerie tasked with patrolling a beach in the Calais region — a longstanding hotspot for migrant camps given its proximity to Dover — was stabbed with a knife by one of the migrants.

The gendarme suffered a wound in the hand during the attack, forcing him to receive surgery to repair the damage caused by the migrant knifeman.

At the time of the attack, the police officer was attempting to puncture an inflatable boat which was set to carry out a clandestine trip across the English Channel with around 60 migrants in tow.

According to a report from Ouest France, it was not immediately clear which of the dozens of mostly young male migrants was responsible for the stabbing.

Brexit leader Nigel Farage said that the incident confirmed that there are many dangerous people attempting to break into the UK illegally, saying: “A gendarme was stabbed in the hand by an illegal migrant on Saturday. This episode shows just how dangerous these young men can be.”

Commenting on the stabbing, General Frantz Tavart said that identifying the culprit was made more difficult by the deployment of tear gas against the crowd of illegals at the time his officer was stabbed.

Tavart said that there has been an “increase in violence against the security forces” in Calais, claiming that another officer of his was attacked by a migrant wielding a piece of wood just days prior.

It is common practice for illegal migrants to ditch any identification documents prior to attempting to cross the Channel illegally, as it makes it more difficult for the British government to deport them to their homeland. The prevalence of the tactic makes it a somewhat soft target for nefarious actors to enter the country.

Indeed, just last month it was revealed that a 42-year-old former ISIS fighter was being housed in a plush hotel for months at taxpayer expense. The migrant’s true identity as a terrorist was only uncovered because he unwisely tried to pass himself off as a 17-year-old  — despite having wrinkles, a beard, and faded tattoos.

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