🔗 Share this article France will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, after months of pressure from the UK. This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the maritime passage. French security forces will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to official statements. French police have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and individuals. "It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters." Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting lives. Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the boats. This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter strategy this summer, which dropped off when the former government official left office. This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel. Now French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped. Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the past. UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response. Connected Updates Why Britain cannot just return migrants to France French government withdrawing from commitment to intercept migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security