France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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