France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "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 picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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