France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left government.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches 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 gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
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