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French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift follows the British leader sent a letter to the President urging him to support the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French maritime police have been authorized to stop the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

French police have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we implement these methods this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential method to disable the engines of the vessels.

The decision to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a short-lived shift towards a stricter strategy this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister departed from office.

This was demonstrated in July, in the run-up to a summit between the UK leader and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.

Currently French authorities will once more be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be stopped.

Strong winds are currently postponing the commencement of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.

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