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France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after 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 initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is considered excessively high a danger to both personnel and individuals.

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

Now, a French maritime police spokesperson states officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential method to disable the propellers of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a significant step forward, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the previous Interior Minister left office.

That was highlighted 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.

Now French officials will again be permitted to intercept boats before they pick up migrant individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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