French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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