French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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