French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action 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 departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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