French authorities to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks 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 contacted for comment.
Connected Developments
- Reasons UK cannot just return migrants to France
- French government backing away from commitment to intercept migrant boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
