France to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands

France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.

French maritime police have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.

"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

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

Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.

Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.

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