French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no 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 migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear 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 methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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