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French officials have consented to begin stopping small boats in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.

The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the initiative and stating there presently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative statements.

French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and individuals.

"It is essential that we deploy these tactics this period... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel."

Currently, a French naval police representative says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Significantly, the spokesperson ruled out the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, coming after a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to slash the sides of a vessel.

Currently French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the beaches of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

The Home Office and Downing Street have been approached for response.

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