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France has agreed to begin stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've picked up their passengers, according to official statements.

French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a danger to both officers and civilians.

"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 begin intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting lives.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.

The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, coming after a brief change towards a stricter approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the former Interior Minister left office.

That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when authorities were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Currently French authorities will again be permitted to stop boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's uncertain how the small boats will be prevented.

Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

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

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