France to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
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 heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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