French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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