French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after 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 follows the British leader sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there presently "have no 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 official confirmation.

French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to snarl the engines of the boats.

This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.

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

Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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