France will start intercepting small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats prior to 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.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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