France to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure
France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after 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 initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."
Now, a French maritime police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.
The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from office.
This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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