France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "lack any 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 picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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