France will start stopping small boats in Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period 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 currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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