France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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