France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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