France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from office.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
Connected Developments
- Reasons UK can't just send back migrants to French territory
- French government withdrawing from commitment to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
