France to begin intercepting small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative says personnel 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 earlier been reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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