France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands

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

The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative 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 exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.

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

Currently, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Currently French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods 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.

Related Developments

• Reasons UK cannot just return migrants to French territory
• French government backing away from commitment to intercept migrant boats