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France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the United Kingdom.

This policy shift comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to support the initiative and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their passengers, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both officers and civilians.

"It is essential that we implement these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states officers will begin taking action at sea, with the aim of safeguarding human life.

Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to stop boats, which had previously been suggested as a possible method to snarl the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.

That was highlighted in July, preceding a summit between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.

Now French authorities will once more be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Strong winds are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been approached for response.

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