French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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