France to begin stopping small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
Connected Developments
- Why UK cannot just return migrants to France
- French government backing away from commitment to intercept asylum boats
