France to begin stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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- Reasons Britain cannot just return asylum seekers to French territory
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