France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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