French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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