🔗 Share this article France will start stopping migrant vessels in Channel after British demands France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK. This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel. French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements. French police have rarely acted to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and individuals. "It is crucial that we deploy these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel." Currently, a French naval police representative states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life. Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats. This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister departed from government. This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel. Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped. Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have done so often in the past. UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment. Connected Updates Reasons Britain can't just return asylum seekers to French territory French government withdrawing from commitment to stop migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security