France to begin stopping small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to back the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
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 Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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