France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased 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 French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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