French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy 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 UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
Related Developments
- Why Britain cannot just send back asylum seekers to French territory
- French government backing away from pledge to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
