The four who died had tried to board a dinghy but were swept away by strong currents, a French government official said, in an incident which happened around 7am local time.
Authorities said another 38 people were assisted, including three who required medical attention, off the coast of Boulogne, between Equihen-Plage and Hardelot-Plage.
The dinghy proceeded into deeper waters and continued its journey to the UK, local authorities said.
It comes less than two weeks after two migrants died off the coast of France during an attempt to cross the Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Francois-Xavier Lauch, an official for Pas-de-Calais, said: "We sadly have to report four deaths this morning.
"The people who died were attempting to board a taxi-boat.
"I have to commend the actions of our officers and firefighters who, as you know, are deployed every day to stop these crossings."
Speaking of the four people who died, he said: "They were already quite far into the sea.
"The currents, which can be dangerous here, swept them away.
"This provisional toll - and I insist that it is provisional - states four deceased: two men, two women."
In the past year, traffickers have taken to motoring dinghies along stretches of the northern French and Belgian
coasts picking migrants up along the shore. Authorities refer to them as 'taxi-boats'.
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The UK government last month signed an extension with France over current arrangements on beach patrols as part of efforts to reduce the number of Channel crossings.
Some 4,441 migrants arrived in the first three months of 2026, according to Home Office data.
This is 33% lower than the number who had reached the UK by this point in 2025, which was 6,642.
Carlo Tritta, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, had pleaded guilty to offences including making indecent images of a child, engaging in sexual communications with a child, and intimidating a witness.
He was 18 when he began messaging his victim on the gaming app, building her trust online until she felt they were in a relationship.
After moving to other platforms as well as Roblox, he then encouraged her to send explicit sexual images.
Soon, the grooming moved offline and Tritta started sending the girl - whose identity is protected by law - gifts and takeaways at her family home.
After a year of grooming, the victim's mother became concerned and reported Tritta to the police.
"I can't even explain how I felt, what I'd seen on my girl's phone," the victim's mother told Sky News.
"I can't even explain it, it's like... I have medication to calm me down, I'm in therapy.
"It's like a continuing nightmare," she said.
After his arrest, when he was ordered not to contact the girl, he continued to do so.
Tritta, now 19, sent his victim greeting cards containing his new phone number, because his old phone was being held by the police, and contacted her friends.
In one card, he warned her if the case against him ended up in court, "both our names" would be "ran through dirt for the world to see".
He also warned her the officer leading the case was male and "would see anything", and claimed he had tried to stop that.
Tritta travelled from his Hampshire home to her home in Manchester several times and maliciously called social services about the girl's mother, as well as telling the teenager he had called the police on her mother and brother "for your protection".
In December, he was arrested for perverting the course of justice after he tried to get his victim to drop the charges. But, three days after he was given a suspended sentence, Tritta returned to her family home.
He was rearrested and was charged with a series of child sex offences.
In court the next day, Tritta pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child, engaging in sexual communications with a child, causing a child aged 13-15 to watch/look at a sexual image, two counts of intimidating a witness, and criminal damage.
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"Once the police came, and they sat talking to my daughter, and they asked, 'Where did you meet him?' [She said] 'Roblox'. I was like... 'Roblox? The kids game you go on? What?'" said the victim's mother.
She blames Roblox for what happened to her daughter, because she said the company "should do more" to protect children.
"[It's] a child's game where predators are going on. And they might not even be necessarily there to groom children but they can talk to them freely and do what they want," she said.
"It's like a nice playing field for them with children, isn't it?"
A Roblox spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened to hear of this troubling case. With more than 144 million daily active users on Roblox, cases of harm are rare, but we know any incident of harm is one too many and we are committed to building safeguards designed to prevent that from happening."
They added: "We cannot comment on this specific case but we work closely with law enforcement to support investigations and will take action where violations of our Terms of Service are found."
Police are still searching for the items after the thief refused to disclose what happened to them.
Enzo Conticello, of no fixed address, made off with the bag at a pub in Soho, central London, on 7 November 2024.
The items had been on display at an event earlier, but an employee of the company that owned them became Conticello's unfortunate victim when she stopped for a drink.
CCTV showed him stealing the bag, and attempting to steal another rucksack a few minutes earlier.
Conticello - also known as Hakin Boudjenoune - was later seen using credit cards from the bag to buy cigarettes and other goods.
He was arrested by Met detectives 12 months later after police in Belfast detained him over another theft under a different name.
Conticello, 29, pleaded guilty to theft and fraud in February this year.
After admitting the charges, the judge told him: "I expect it was probably quite a surprise to you when you discovered that egg."
The stolen items - which also included a laptop - belonged to The Craft Irish Whiskey Company and the court was told they were worth at least $2.8m (£2.1m).
The firm collaborated with Faberge to create bespoke eggs as part of an exclusive whiskey collection which also included the gold watch.
Seven eggs were made, each decorated with a unique gemstone surrounded by a diamond Celtic knot.
Conticello admitted theft and three counts of fraud by misrepresentation and was sentenced on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court to two years and three months in prison.
"The defendant never explained to the police what he did with the expensive jewellery," said Detective Constable Arben Morina.
"Our investigation to find the egg and the watch is ongoing and we'd urge anyone with information to contact us."
A 25-year-old man was arrested in November 2024 on suspicion of handling stolen goods after the whiskey company was approached about the items' value.
However, after a review of the evidence, no further action was taken.
Haulage and agricultural businesses are angry about the response to rising fuel costs, and have also set up slow-moving convoys on motorways and disrupted major roads in Dublin.
"The blocking of critical national infrastructure will not be permitted to continue and the assistance of the Defence Forces has been requested," justice minister Jim O'Callaghan said in a statement.
He said large vehicles would be removed - and warned owners to "remove them immediately" on Thursday morning, or face the possibility of them being damaged.
Owners "should not complain later about any damage caused to those vehicles during removal", he said.
"Denying people access to fuel and clean water is an unacceptable interference in the most basic of human rights," he added.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called the blockading of fuel depots and the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork "an act of national sabotage".
He also criticised tractor drivers who snarled up traffic in Dublin and turned the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street "into a car park".
The city's fire brigade said the protests caused delays getting to emergency calls.
Petrol and diesel costs have soared in recent weeks due to the Iran war and the blocking of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
Agriculture minister Martin Heydon said the government would meet with representatives of haulage and farming groups - but would nt engage with the protesters.
He told RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme it was a "clear choice between democracy or anarchy, and we have a rule of law in this country".
"I completely understand where people's frustration is from in terms of (the) very high energy shock as a result of the war that has broken out between America, Israel and Iran," he added.
Ireland's coalition last month approved a €250m (£218m) package of measures to ease the burden.
It included a temporary cut to fuel excise, expansion of a rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators, and an extension of the fuel allowance.
However, the cuts have been largely eroded by the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
Metropolitan Police footage showed a group of officers entering the store and using a large tool to access a padlocked area within the building, revealing shelves stacked with mobile phones.
One officer can be heard saying there were "loads of phones".
The shop in Kilburn, northwest London, was originally subject to a warrant after intelligence suggested the venue was being used to supply class B drugs.
Four men - aged 22, 25, 34 and 63 - have been arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, possession of drugs and intent to supply.
Inspector Yu Zhang, from the Met's local policing team in Brent, said the force understood that "mobile phone theft remains a major concern for Londoners".
"Seizures such as this show that we are not only targeting individual phone snatchers, but also those who handle and profit from stolen devices," he added.
Three suspects have been released on bail, and one has been released under investigation.
Metropolitan Police are using intelligence and new technology, such as drones and high-powered Sur-Ron electric bikes, to tackle mobile phone thieves.
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Police action has, at least in part, led to a 10,000 drop in the number of reported mobile phone theft offences in London in the past year.
In March, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "If by June industry has not come forward in a genuinely serious, solutions‑focused way - with concrete commitments that make stolen phones unusable anywhere in the world - the Met will formally ask the Government to legislate."