French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade 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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