France will start stopping small boats in English Channel after British demands

French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period 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 "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

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

French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.

"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."

Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start intervening 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 reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official departed from office.

This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.

Strong winds are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.

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

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