French authorities will start intercepting small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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