France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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