France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop 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 implement these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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