France agrees to stop migrant boats at sea after pressure from Starmer
French police will block small boats at sea to prevent immigrants from crossing the English Channel.
The document seen by the French newspaper Le Monde, The agreement, signed by four states in northern France, agrees that maritime police will launch “planned operations” to intercept boats before migrants can board. According to the newspaper, pushbacks will first begin at sea, and then will be carried out in the “inland waters” of ports and canals.
Sir Keir Starmer has reportedly sent a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron pressing him to take action on small boat crossings and promising significant funding. The letter quoted by the French media says: “It is imperative that we implement these tactics this month… We do not have an effective deterrent in the channel.”
France’s maritime gendarmerie will try to stop “taxi boat” boats traveling along the coast to pick up migrants who want to cross the English Channel. They are called taxi boats because they wait for immigrants to come towards them.
The method was further developed because the French police were previously reluctant to intervene when the boat entered the water. Police boats will now try to stop smaller boats and one ship will be dedicated to rescue operations.
Maritime police are expected to take a series of measures to stop small boats, starting with a stop order, then “immobilizing the ship” and diverting it.
Then-interior minister Yvette Cooper said in April this year that the French had agreed to change their rules and stop small boats in the water. However, it was reported that the plans were disrupted due to political turmoil in the French government.
Responding to the news that the French would begin interfering with boats, a government spokesman said: “We continue to work closely with our French partners on the common problem of illegal immigration and have already worked to ensure that officers in France review their maritime tactics to enable them to intervene in shallow waters.”
A spokesman for No 10 said: “As you know, we never comment on reported reports of leaks of private correspondence.
“You know that the prime minister and president Macron talk regularly about this issue, and we always want to further our work with our French partners on the fight against illegal immigration.”
Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said: “This is a dangerous moment that will cost more lives. Stopping boats while they are in the water has never been done before because quite frankly it puts people at risk.”
He added: “All these new enforcement tactics will put more lives at risk as French police hostility, such as interfering with boats in the water, forces people to take ever more dangerous measures to seek sanctuary in the UK.”
It comes after new statistics published on Thursday revealed 51,000 people arrived in the UK irregularly in the year to September, with 46,000 making the perilous journey across the Channel.
Small boat arrivals increased by 53 percent compared to the previous year. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood recently announced sweeping reforms to the asylum system in a bid to deter the number of immigrants coming to the UK.
According to the plans, refugee status will be made temporary and asylum grants will be regularly reviewed every 30 months.
Sir Keir reportedly mentioned these radical reforms in his letter to Mr Macron in mid-November. Accordingly Le MondeSir Keir warned the French president: “If we fail to solve this crisis together, those who come after us will try to do it for us. They may choose a very different path, breaking with agreements, conventions and international cooperation and turning nations against each other.”
“This policy will lead the European continent down a very worrying path.”
Sir Keir promised the French “significant funding” for “additional resources and equipment” such as drones and planes and “the purchase of more ships”, the newspaper reported.
The new funding cycle to secure the France-UK border is planned to be completed in March.
