French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying 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 authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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