France will start stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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- Reasons UK cannot just return migrants to French territory
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