France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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