French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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