French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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