French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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