French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and stating there currently "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 migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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