France will start stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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