France to begin intercepting small boats in English Channel after UK pressure

France has agreed to start intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK.

This policy shift follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the vessels.

The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.

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