🔗 Share this article French authorities will start intercepting small boats in Channel after UK pressure France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK. The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader asking him to back the plan and saying there currently "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 migrants, according to authoritative statements. French authorities have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians. "It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters." Currently, a French maritime police representative says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives. Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels. The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous government official left government. That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat. Currently French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented. Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust 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 comment. Related Updates Reasons Britain cannot just return asylum seekers to France French government withdrawing from commitment to stop asylum boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security