France will start intercepting small boats in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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