🔗 Share this article

France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

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

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.

Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left government.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.

Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

Connected Updates

• Reasons UK can't just return migrants to French territory
• French government backing away from pledge to intercept migrant boats