French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after 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 will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a brief change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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