French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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