France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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