French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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