French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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