France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands
French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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