French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop 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 advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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