France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, coming after a brief change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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- Why Britain cannot just return asylum seekers to France
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UK immigration
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