France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to disable the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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