French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out 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 intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
Related Developments
- Why Britain cannot just return migrants to French territory
- French government backing away from pledge to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
