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French officials have consented to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the UK.

This policy shift comes after the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to back the plan and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces have been authorized to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.

French police have rarely intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Notably, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential method to snarl the propellers of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.

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

Currently French authorities will once more be permitted to stop boats before they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have done so often in the past.

The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.

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• French government withdrawing from pledge to intercept migrant boats