France to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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