France will start intercepting small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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