French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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