A new conflict between France and the United Kingdom: why?

Posted:

Oct 28, 2021 16:13 GMT

Paris accuses London of violating fishing licenses and threatens to block British ships and reduce electricity supplies to Britain.

Tensions escalated in the English Channel after France threatened the United Kingdom with sanctions if it did not respect the rights of its fishing fleet.

Paris Accuse to London for not granting sufficient fishing licenses to French ships operating in its territorial waters. in september in france critical The British authorities and the island of Jersey (which belongs to the British Crown and is located 22 kilometers from the French coast) refused to refuse dozens of licenses for fishing boats to fish in their waters.

“Government [de Francia] Make a list of the licenses to which we are entitled. We have worked with the British, providing them with all the data, documents and information required to support those requests. Today we see that we have lost about 50% of the licenses to which we are entitled. This situation is unacceptable and I will say it very clearly, and today our patience has reached the limit.”He said this Wednesday in Press Conference Gabriel Attal, spokesman for the French executive authority.

Galic’s government announced that if no agreement was reached with the United Kingdom and the island of Jersey, A set of penalties will be imposed. These include a ban on landing British fishing vessels in French ports, systematic security checks on ships and tighter health and customs controls on British imports.

In addition, the Minister of State for European Affairs, Clément Bonn, raised the stakes and Suggestion Limiting the electrical current to British soil through cables installed under the English Channel.

Answer British

The official response from London was swift. David Frost, Brexit Secretary, classified Threats as “disappointing and disproportionate”. “It’s not something we expect from a close ally and partner.”As he claimed. “Since we have not received an official communication from the French government in this regard, we will ask for an urgent clarification of their plans,” he added.

In part, the French Minister of the Sea, Annick Giardin Certain That the measures are not disproportionate. “We are defending our rights, the fishermen and the coasts,” he said.

British hunting accidents

This Wednesday, two British fishing boats starred Quarrels with the French authorities. The first of them, despite having a fishing license, was fined for “obstruction” for initially refusing to allow the authorities to board the ship. Meanwhile, the second boat was fishing without a license in French waters and was diverted to the port of Le Havre where it is being held.

• The struggle over the fishing licenses granted by the United Kingdom to France to fish in its waters after Brexit began when the British government began requiring fishing permits from ships it did not need before leaving the country from the European Union.