French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
Related Developments
- Why UK can't just send back migrants to France
- France backing away from pledge to stop migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
