French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible method to disable the engines of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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