French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways 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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