🔗 Share this article

French officials have consented to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.

French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.

"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.

Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to snarl the engines of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left government.

This was demonstrated 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 hulls of a boat.

Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.

Related Developments

• Reasons UK cannot just return migrants to France
• France withdrawing from commitment to intercept asylum boats