French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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