🔗 Share this article France will start intercepting small boats in Channel after UK pressure French officials have consented to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom. The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel. French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements. French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians. "It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel." Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives. Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels. 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. That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel. Currently French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped. Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances. The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for comment. Connected Updates Reasons UK can't just send back migrants to French territory France backing away from commitment to intercept migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security