French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French naval police representative says officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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