Rebel spirits at sea: Disrupting EUrope’s weaponizing of time in maritime migration governance

Abstract

In August 2020, a motor yacht formerly owned by French customs authorities set sail in the Mediterranean Sea in search of migrant boats in distress. Funded by the street artist Banksy, the search and rescue engagement of the Louise Michel was meant to prevent both the continuous loss of migrant lives at sea and mass interceptions to North Africa. Assessing her maiden voyage and strategic conception, as well as her operational and political impact, the article argues that the intervention of the Louise Michel and her activist crew can be regarded as an attempt to disrupt EUrope’s ‘weaponization’ of time in the governance of maritime migration. Over recent years, EU member states have sought to systematically decelerate rescues while accelerating interceptions of escaping migrant boats. With her speed, unprecedented in the ‘civil fleet’ and on a par with EUropean and Libyan naval assets, the activists have sought to disrupt the EUro–Libyan interception regime which has led to the forced return of over 120,000 people to Libya since 2016.