French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel following British demands

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

The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there currently "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 collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats.

The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.

That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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

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