France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a brief change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods 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 contacted for response.
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