France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a brief change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
That was highlighted 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 vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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