France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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