French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off 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 French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
Connected Developments
- Why UK can't just return migrants to France
- French government backing away from commitment to stop asylum boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
