France will start stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any 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 collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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