French authorities to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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