🔗 Share this article French authorities will start intercepting small boats in English Channel following British demands French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK. This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel. French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements. French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians. "It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel." Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting lives. Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to disable the engines of the boats. The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous government official departed from government. This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat. Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented. Strong winds are currently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for ways to adapt to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances. UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment. Connected Developments Reasons UK can't just return asylum seekers to France French government backing away from commitment to intercept asylum boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security