French authorities will start intercepting small boats in Channel following UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, 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 boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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- France backing away from pledge to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
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