French authorities to begin intercepting small boats in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
Related Updates
- Reasons UK can't just send back asylum seekers to French territory
- France backing away from commitment to stop migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
