French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure

French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces have been authorized to intercept 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 stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.

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

Now, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

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 propellers of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left government.

That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past.

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

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