French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to back the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a major advancement, coming after a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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