France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, coming after a brief change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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