France to begin intercepting small boats in Channel after UK pressure

France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces have been authorized to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French police have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we implement these tactics 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 aim of safeguarding lives.

Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left office.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.

Strong winds are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment.