🔗 Share this article

French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

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

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

Currently, a French naval police representative says personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.

Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a major advancement, following a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.

Connected Developments

• Why UK cannot just send back migrants to France
• French government withdrawing from commitment to stop migrant boats