French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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