French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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