France will start intercepting small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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