France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have infrequently intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid detection, 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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