France will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter 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 summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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