France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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