French authorities will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.
French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.
Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Currently French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.
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