đź”— Share this article France will start intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after months of insistence from the United Kingdom. This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel. French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation. French police have rarely intervened to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians. "It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent in the Channel waters." Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives. Notably, the official ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the vessels. This determination to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the former government official left office. This was demonstrated in the summer month, preceding a summit between the UK leader and French president, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel. Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented. Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks 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 approached for response. Connected Developments Why UK can't just send back asylum seekers to French territory France backing away from commitment to stop asylum boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security