France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a brief change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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