French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter 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 stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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