France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking 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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