French authorities will start intercepting small boats in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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- Why Britain cannot just send back migrants to French territory
- French government withdrawing from pledge to stop asylum boats
UK immigration
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