France will start intercepting small boats in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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