French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, 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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