Channel bridge idea declined
PARIS: France has politely rejected Boris Johnson’s idea of building a giant bridge across the English Channel after Brexit, saying that, while far-fetched ideas were worth considering, there were plenty of major European projects to finish first.
British Foreign Secretary Johnson, who led the campaign to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, broached the idea of building a 35km Channel Bridge during a visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Britain’s most prominent Brexiteer even explained some of his ideas on Channel crossings to Macron, who the newspaper reported gave a short but positive reply.
France’s finance minister, though, gave the idea short shrift. “All ideas merit consideration, even the most farfetched ones,” Bruno Le Maire said.
“We have major European infrastructure projects that are complicated to finance,” Le Maire said. “Let’s finish things that are already under way before thinking of new ones.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s appointment of Johnson, who in the run-up to Britain’s referendum on EU membership compared the goals of the EU to those of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon, caused consternation in European capitals.
It took two centuries for Britain to countenance the construction of the Channel Tunnel, which French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte once suggested, though the land link has repeatedly been the focus of concerns about illegal immigration.
“Our economic success depends on good infrastructure and good connections,” Johnson tweeted. He did not mention the idea of a bridge explicitly in public and it was unclear if any detailed discussions had taken place.
“It’s good to have vision… but the Dover Strait is the world’s busiest shipping lane,” said Guy Platten, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping.
“Building a bridge across the Channel would therefore not be without its challenges, especially as the largest ships currently transiting the strait have a height above the water line in excess of 60m.” – Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)