France will start intercepting small boats in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt 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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