French authorities to begin intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President asking him to back the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police representative says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from office.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
Connected Developments
- Reasons Britain can't just return asylum seekers to France
- French government withdrawing from commitment to stop migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
