France will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows 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 maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
Connected Developments
- Reasons UK cannot just return migrants to French territory
- France backing away from commitment to stop asylum boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
