French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats before 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.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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