French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method 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 more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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