🔗 Share this article

French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.

The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.

Connected Updates

• Why UK can't just send back asylum seekers to France
• France withdrawing from pledge to stop migrant boats