French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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