French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.
The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, following a brief change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start 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.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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