🔗 Share this article France to begin stopping small boats in Channel after British demands French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom. The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the plan and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel. French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements. French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians. "It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters." Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life. Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the propellers of the vessels. The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official departed from government. This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel. Currently French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped. Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances. The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for comment. Related Developments Reasons UK cannot just send back migrants to France France withdrawing from pledge to stop migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security