France to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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