France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left 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 walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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