French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, coming after a brief change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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