France to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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