France to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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