French authorities will start stopping migrant vessels in English Channel after UK pressure

France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the French leader asking him to back the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French maritime police will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French maritime police representative says personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Notably, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.

That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Currently French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.

Related Updates

• Why UK cannot just send back migrants to French territory
• France backing away from pledge to stop migrant boats