France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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