French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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