France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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