France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to back the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
Connected Developments
- Reasons Britain cannot just return migrants to France
- France withdrawing from commitment to stop asylum boats
UK immigration
Channel crossings
Border security
