French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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