France to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
Related Developments
- Reasons UK cannot just return asylum seekers to French territory
- French government withdrawing from pledge to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
