France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a brief change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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