France to begin stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to disable 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 strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid 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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