French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have infrequently acted to stop 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 no effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Now French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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