French authorities will start stopping small boats in English Channel following UK pressure

France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements.

French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.

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

Now, a French maritime police representative states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives.

Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl 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 Interior Minister left government.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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