đŸ”— Share this article France will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel following UK pressure French officials have consented to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the UK. The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel. French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements. French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians. "It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel." Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life. Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats. The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official departed from office. That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel. Now French officials will once more be allowed to stop boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented. Strong winds are currently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, 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 Why Britain cannot just return migrants to French territory French government backing away from commitment to stop migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security