French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following 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 currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
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 past.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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