France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.
This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and individuals.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible method to disable the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left office.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.
Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.
UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment.
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