French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure

France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to official confirmation.

French police have infrequently intervened to stop the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.

"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel."

Now, a French maritime police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to snarl the engines of the boats.

This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.

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