France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the President asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no 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 picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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