France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the President urging him to back the plan and stating there currently "lack any effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.
French security forces will be allowed to stop the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've collected their migrants, according to authoritative statements.
French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered too great a danger to both personnel and civilians.
"It is essential that we implement these methods this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will begin taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.
Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which ceased when the former government official left government.
That was highlighted in July, preceding a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to slash the hulls of a boat.
Now French authorities will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's uncertain how the small boats will be stopped.
Powerful gusts are presently delaying the start of intervention operations and the human trafficking networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for response.
Elena Hartwell is a multidisciplinary artist and educator passionate about fostering creative communities in London.