French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted 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 slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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