France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands
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 urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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