France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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