France will start stopping small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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