France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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