France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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