🔗 Share this article France will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of insistence from the UK. This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and saying there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage. French security forces have been authorized to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation. French police have infrequently intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and individuals. "It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters." Currently, a French naval police representative states personnel will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life. Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to disable the engines of the boats. The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from office. This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat. Now French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped. Strong winds are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the previous instances. UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for comment. Related Developments Why UK can't just return asylum seekers to France French government withdrawing from pledge to stop migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security