French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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