France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement 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 Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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