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French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to official statements.

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

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

Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will start intervening at sea, with the aim of safeguarding lives.

Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the boats.

This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived change towards a stricter approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous Interior Minister left government.

This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of interceptions and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the past.

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

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