France has agreed to start stopping small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy follows the Prime Minister sent a letter to the President urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to stop the small boats at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to official confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to prevent the overcrowded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and individuals.
"It is crucial that we deploy these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Currently, a French maritime police representative states officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the engines of the boats.
The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, coming after a brief shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a vessel.
Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the beaches of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.
Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adapt to evade interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.
The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.
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