France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there currently "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 picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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