France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, 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 Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although 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 networks will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.
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- French government withdrawing from commitment to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
