France will start stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President asking him to back the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative says personnel 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 reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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