France will start stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands

France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

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

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals.

"It is crucial that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.

Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Now French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.