France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official statements.
French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Now French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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