France will start intercepting small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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