France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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