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

The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the plan and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.

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

Now, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to snarl the engines of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this summer, which ceased when the former Interior Minister departed from government.

This was demonstrated 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 slash the hulls of a boat.

Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's uncertain how the vessels will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been contacted for response.

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• French government withdrawing from commitment to stop migrant boats