French authorities will start intercepting small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
Connected Developments
- Why Britain can't just return migrants to French territory
- France withdrawing from pledge to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
