French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement 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 Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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