French authorities to begin intercepting small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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