France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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