French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great 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."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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UK immigration
Channel crossings
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