🔗 Share this article

French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" 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 official statements.

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.

"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Now, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the engines of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from government.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.

Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.

Related Developments

• Reasons UK cannot just send back migrants to France
• France withdrawing from commitment to intercept asylum boats