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France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the English Channel, after an extended period of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the President asking him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective deterrent" 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 passengers, according to authoritative confirmation.

French authorities have infrequently intervened to prevent the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both personnel and individuals.

"It is essential that we deploy these methods this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

Currently, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the objective of safeguarding human life.

Notably, the official excluded the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had previously been reported as a possible method to disable the propellers of the boats.

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

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were witnessed wading into the sea to slash the sides of a boat.

Now French authorities will again be permitted to intercept boats prior to they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Strong winds are presently postponing the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to avoid interception, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

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

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