France will start intercepting migrant vessels in Channel following British demands

French officials have consented to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official statements.

French authorities have infrequently acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.

"It is essential that we implement these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

Currently, a French naval police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Significantly, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a possible technique to disable the engines of the vessels.

The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left government.

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

Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they collect migrant individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are presently delaying the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking ways to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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