France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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