đź”— Share this article French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel after British demands France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom. The change in policy follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage. French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation. French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals. "It is crucial that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters." Now, a French naval police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives. Significantly, the official 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 boats. The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official left office. This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat. Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented. Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances. The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response. Related Developments Reasons UK can't just return asylum seekers to French territory France backing away from pledge to intercept asylum boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security