French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats 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 leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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