French authorities will start intercepting small boats in Channel following British demands

France has agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.

The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" 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 passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the engines of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official left government.

That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.

Currently French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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

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