French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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