France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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