France to begin intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following UK pressure

France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.

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

French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.

French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.

"It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to disable the engines of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government.

That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment.

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