France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, 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 President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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