France to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, following months 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 stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Now 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, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are presently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
Related Updates
- Reasons Britain can't just send back asylum seekers to French territory
- France backing away from pledge to intercept asylum boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
