In a move that’s being hailed as a potential game-changer in the ongoing migrant crisis, France has finally agreed to take serious steps to stop so-called “taxi boats” before they even leave for the UK. Sources from within the French interior ministry told The Telegraph that, under new proposals, French patrols will begin targeting boats within 300 metres of the beach to prevent them from setting off across the Channel packed with migrants.
The breakthrough comes ahead of the upcoming Franco-British summit on 8 July, when President Emmanuel Macron is set to make a state visit to London. The timing is no coincidence. Both sides have been under growing pressure to tackle the spiralling number of small boat crossings, and this new approach could mark a real shift in how France handles the situation at its coastline.
