France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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