French authorities have discovered 42 stowaways on board a ferry about to depart for England.
The asylum seekers, who are all in good health, arrived in France from Germany in a truck transporting goods to England.
French customs officials said they have all been arrested. The incident comes after eight mainly Turkish refugees died in a container in Co Wexford earlier this month.
Fifty-eight Chinese refugees also died in a container in the British port of Dover earlier this year.