France will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands
France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.
"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Currently, a French maritime police representative says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official left government.
This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
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