France to begin intercepting small boats in Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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