France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
Connected Updates
- Reasons Britain can't just send back migrants to France
- France backing away from commitment to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
