French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French 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 intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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- Reasons UK can't just send back migrants to French territory
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UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
