France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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