🔗 Share this article France to begin stopping migrant vessels in Channel after UK pressure French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom. The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel. French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation. French police have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals. "It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters." Now, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives. Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers 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 dropped off when the former Interior Minister departed from office. That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel. Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped. Strong winds are presently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adjust 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 response. Related Updates Reasons UK can't just send back asylum seekers to France French government backing away from pledge to stop asylum boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security