France to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands
French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to back the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... 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 safeguarding lives.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the boats.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.
That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.
Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.
Connected Developments
- Why UK cannot just return asylum seekers to France
- France backing away from commitment to stop asylum boats
