France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure

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

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.

French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.

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

Currently, a French naval police representative states officers 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 earlier been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left government.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.

Currently French officials will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.

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