France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
Related Developments
- Reasons UK can't just return asylum seekers to France
- French government backing away from pledge to intercept asylum boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
