French authorities to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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