French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands

French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent 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 implement these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."

Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from office.

This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.

Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.

UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for response.

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