🔗 Share this article France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel following UK pressure French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom. The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel. French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation. French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians. "It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel." Now, a French naval police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life. Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats. This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, following a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from office. This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel. Currently French officials will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped. Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past. UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment. Connected Developments Reasons Britain can't just return migrants to France French government withdrawing from pledge to intercept migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security