France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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