France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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