French authorities to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
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