France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels 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 detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
Connected Developments
- Reasons Britain can't just return migrants to French territory
- French government withdrawing from pledge to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
