France to begin stopping small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official 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.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a brief change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased 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 French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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