Four migrants with severe hypothermia were rescued by the French navy after their boat capsized in the English Channel.
The group were spotted by a passing passenger ferry on Saturday.
They were found to have severe hypothermia after being taken to port of Calais.
French authorities said they are now safe and well, as they issued repeated warnings about the dangers of crossing the narrow strait between the UK and the Continent.
It follows reports that French authorities dismantled a migrant camp near Calais, resulting in more than 500 people being moved on.
Clare Moseley, founder of humanitarian charity Care4Calais, said: “These continual evictions increase health risks – destroying possessions removes people’s ability to keep warm and dry, sleep properly or cook for themselves.
“The effect on their mental health is equally stark, causing depression, self-harm and suicide.
“Evictions are pointless and simply don’t work. This approach has been followed for 10 years with no perceivable impact.
“It was claimed that the demolition of the large Calais jungle in October 2016 would stop people coming to Calais to cross the Channel, but it did not.”
Instead, Ms Moseley said the eviction was a “direct response” to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel’s calls for action following recent Channel crossings.
Ms Patel said on Monday that migrant crossings were a “complicated issue” and that the English Channel has become “far too viable for criminals”.
She also said that there is no new target for when illegal migrant crossings should have become an “infrequent phenomenon”, when asked about comments made in a document last year.
