France to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official left office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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