France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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