France will start stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any 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 passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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