French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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