French authorities to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands

French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.

French police 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 civilians.

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

Now, a French naval police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.

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

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.

Now French officials will once more be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past.

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

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