France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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