France to begin stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however 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 gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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