France to begin stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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