🔗 Share this article

French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.

"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.

Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.

The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left government.

That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop 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 prevented.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.

Connected Developments

• Why UK cannot just return migrants to France
• French government backing away from commitment to stop asylum boats