🔗 Share this article French authorities to begin stopping small boats in English Channel following British demands France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK. The change in policy follows the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to back the initiative and saying there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel. French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation. French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a risk to both officers and individuals. "It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters." Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives. Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the boats. The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government. This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel. Now French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped. Powerful gusts are currently 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 Developments Reasons UK can't just send back asylum seekers to France French government backing away from commitment to stop migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security