French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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