French authorities to begin stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands

French officials have consented to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.

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

French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.

"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official left office.

That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Now French officials will once more be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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