🔗 Share this article French authorities will start stopping small boats in Channel after UK pressure France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom. The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel. French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official statements. French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and individuals. "It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel." Currently, a French maritime police representative says personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life. Significantly, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to disable the engines of the boats. This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former Interior Minister left government. That was highlighted in the summer month, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel. Now French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they pick up migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped. Powerful gusts are currently delaying the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances. UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response. Related Developments Why UK can't just return migrants to French territory French government withdrawing from pledge to intercept migrant boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security