đź”— Share this article France will start stopping small boats in Channel following UK pressure France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the Channel, after an extended period of pressure from the UK. The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel. French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative statements. French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians. "It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters." Currently, a French maritime police representative says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives. Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to disable the engines of the boats. The decision to intervene at all is a significant advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official left government. This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when authorities were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel. Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of northern France, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented. Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid detection, as they have frequently done in the past. The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response. Related Developments Reasons UK can't just return asylum seekers to France French government withdrawing from commitment to intercept asylum boats UK immigration Channel crossings Border security