France will start stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after 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 will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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